Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan
2012 Update
Water Supply Permit Availability Report
Revised October 2011
Prepared by CDM under a cooperative agreement between the
United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board
A i
Contents
Section 1 - Water Supply Permit Availability Analyses
Section 2 - Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
2.1 Water Use Permitting in Oklahoma ......................................................... 2-1
2.2 Groundwater Permitting Availability ........................................................ 2-2
2.2.1 Methodology .............................................................................. 2-2
2.2.2 Results ....................................................................................... 2-5
2.3 Surface Water Permitting Availability .................................................... 2-10
2.3.1 Methodology ............................................................................ 2-10
2.3.2 Difference in USACE Reservoir Contracts and Permitting .... 2-12
2.3.3 Protecting Yield above Federal Reservoirs ............................ 2-12
2.3.4 Results ..................................................................................... 2-12
Section 3 - Interstate River Compacts
3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 3-1
3.2 Canadian River Compact (1950) ............................................................ 3-2
3.2.1 Purposes .................................................................................... 3-2
3.2.2 Geographical Area of Influence ................................................ 3-3
3.2.3 Apportionment of Water ........................................................... 3-3
3.2.4 Compact Operation and Accounting ........................................ 3-4
3.2.5 Water Availability ....................................................................... 3-4
3.3 Arkansas River Basin Compact, Kansas-Oklahoma (1965) .................. 3-5
3.3.1 Purposes .................................................................................... 3-5
3.3.2 Geographical Area of Influence ................................................ 3-5
3.3.3 Apportionment of Water ........................................................... 3-5
3.3.4 Compact Operation and Accounting ........................................ 3-7
3.3.5 Water Availability ....................................................................... 3-7
3.4 Arkansas River Basin Compact, Arkansas-Oklahoma (1972) ............... 3-8
3.4.1 Purposes .................................................................................... 3-8
3.4.2 Geographical Area of Influence ................................................ 3-8
3.4.3 Apportionment of Water ........................................................... 3-9
3.4.4 Compact Operation and Accounting ........................................ 3-9
3.4.5 Water Availability ..................................................................... 3-10
3.5 Red River Compact, Arkansas-Louisiana-Oklahoma-Texas (1978) .... 3-11
3.5.1 Purposes .................................................................................. 3-11
3.5.2 Geographical Area of Influence .............................................. 3-11
3.5.3 Apportionment of Water ......................................................... 3-12
3.5.4 Compact Operation and Accounting ...................................... 3-14
3.5.5 Water Availability ..................................................................... 3-15
3.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 3-15
Section 4 - References
A ii
Figures
2-1 Aquifer Equal Proportionate Share ......................................................... 2-4
2-2 Estimated Available Groundwater in 2060 for New Permits ................ 2-9
2-3 Estimated Surface Water Permit Availability Gaps in 2010 ................ 2-16
2-4 Estimated Available Surface Water in 2060 for New Permits ............ 2-17
3-1 Oklahoma's Interstate River Compacts .................................................. 3-2
Tables
2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060 ........................................... 2-5
2-2 Projected Permit Availability of Surface Water in 2060 ...................... 2-13
2-3 Source of Permitted Withdrawals for Projected 2060 Surface
Water Permit Availability Gaps .............................................................. 2-18
3-1 Long-Term Average Streamflow from Kansas to Oklahoma .................. 3-7
A iii
Acronyms
AF acre-feet
AFY acre-feet per year
cfs cubic feet per second
EPS equal proportionate share
GIS geographic information system
GRDA Grand River Dam Authority
GW groundwater
M&I municipal and industrial
OCWP Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan
OWRB Oklahoma Water Resources Board
SW surface water
TDS total dissolved solids
USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
USGS U.S. Geological Survey
A 1-1
Section 1
Water Supply Permit Availability Analyses
The Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan (OCWP) is being updated to assess and plan for
the water needs of all water uses and users in Oklahoma through 2060. A reliable water
supply is contingent on all of the following aspects:
 Physical water supply availability or "wet water"
 The right to divert water from surface water (SW) or groundwater (GW) sources
 Infrastructure to divert, treat, and convey the water to its intended use
 Adequate water quality for the intended use
A reliable source of supply must not only have the water physically present for diversion
and use, the user must have the rights and the infrastructure to deliver the water, and the
water must be of adequate quality. Absent any one of these elements, the supply is not
reliable.
For example, the right to divert water has no value if the water is not physically present
due to hydrologic or other conditions. Conversely, having water physically available for
diversion does not by itself satisfy a user's need if the water is obligated to other users.
Each of these elements is being examined at both a statewide and a basin level of
analysis as part of the development of the OCWP. This report focuses on the permit
availability of water in Oklahoma. The other supply aspects are being investigated and
documented separately.
Specifically, the permit availability analyses consisted of the following aspects:
 Identification of the maximum amounts of SW and GW that could be permitted using
Oklahoma's existing statutory requirements and water rights permitting protocol
 Documentation of interstate river compact agreements and obligations
The maximum amount of SW and GW available for permitting may change if statutory or
rule changes occur in the future.
The maximum amount of water that could be permitted was compared to demand
forecasts for 2060, for each of the 82 OCWP basins, to check for constraints of the
current permitting system on meeting future demands. Interstate river compacts were also
summarized as part of this effort, and Oklahoma's anticipated SW development was
compared to interstate river compact obligations to check whether interstate river
compact requirements are likely to constrain the use of supplies to meet anticipated
demand for SW in Oklahoma. These analyses are described in the following sections.
A 2-1
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current
and Future Permitting
This section summarizes the results of analyses of the permit availability of water supplies
in Oklahoma relative to water permits, sometimes referred to as "water rights." A water
right can be a permit, prior right (groundwater), or vested right (surface water). As noted in
Section 1, the permit availability was evaluated in parallel with the physical water supply,
water quality, and infrastructure constraints. Physical water availability, water quality, and
infrastructure constraints are analyzed and discussed in separate OCWP documents.
2.1 Water Use Permitting in Oklahoma
Oklahoma water law considers SW and GW separately. Stream water, the term used for
SW permits, is "water in a definite stream and includes but is not limited to water in ponds,
lakes, reservoirs, and playa lakes" (Oklahoma Administrative Code 785:20-1-2.
Definitions). SW is a public resource that is subject to appropriation by the Oklahoma
Water Resources Board (OWRB) for all SW basins except the Grand River in northeast
Oklahoma, where the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) has authority for water allocation.
GRDA was created by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1935. As defined by the enabling
legislation, the waters of the Grand River serve citizens and industrial customers for both
their general electrical and public consumption purposes. Waters of the Grand River were
fully appropriated to the authority with the initial enabling legislation. This act of
appropriation resulted in the eventual formation of water contracting agreements between
GRDA and its water users. The administration of water use contracts is solely the
responsibility of the GRDA and does not fall under the purview of the OWRB. Permitting in
the Grand River basin is therefore not analyzed in this report.
Oklahoma SW laws are based on riparian and prior appropriation doctrines. OWRB issues
a permit, also referred to as a water right, to divert water from a stream for beneficial use.
Domestic use of GW or SW by individuals for household purposes, lawns, orchards, and
cattle watering up to the normal grazing capacity, plus use of up to 5 acre-feet per year
(AFY) for agriculture by natural individuals, firefighting, and use by non-individuals for
drinking water, restrooms, and lawn watering does not require a permit. New SW permits
may not interfere with existing permitted withdrawals, domestic users, and reservoir
yields. If the beneficial use of the diversion is not maintained, the law specifies that
permitted withdrawal amounts are forfeited.
GW is considered a property right in Oklahoma. GW is defined as "fresh water [less than
5,000 parts per million total dissolved solids (TDS)] under the surface of the earth
regardless of the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving outside the cut bank
of any definite stream." The amount of GW that may be withdrawn is based on the number
of acres of land overlying the groundwater basin. OWRB permits the withdrawal of GW
providing that the following are satisfied:
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-2
 The party requesting the permit owns or leases the land (or has right to the water under
the land)
 The land lies atop a groundwater basin or sub-basin
 The use will be beneficial
 No unauthorized use of wells or GW (waste by depletion)
 No pollution to the basin or aquifer (waste by pollution) (82 O.S., §1020.9)
In addition to the merits of the GW permit, the potential for interference with existing wells
may be examined. Well pumping can be curtailed to less than the permitted amount if
interference with existing wells occurs. New wells in aquifers where an equal proportionate
share (EPS) has been established are required to be located at least a 1/4 mile away from
the next nearest existing well to avoid such interference, unless otherwise proven in a
hearing before the OWRB.
Two major types of GW permits are issued by the OWRB—regular and temporary. Regular
GW permits are issued for aquifers that have been studied and an EPS defined. An EPS is
the portion of maximum annual yield of GW in a given GW basin allocated to each acre of
overlying land. The GW basins with an EPS, which currently vary from 0.5 to 2.1 AFY per
acre, are shown in Figure 2-1. In all areas with no defined EPS, a temporary permit of
2.0 AFY per acre may be issued. If the land overlies more than one aquifer, separate
permits are issued for each aquifer that is used in studied basins. Pumping of GW for
domestic uses is exempt from the OWRB GW permitting process, but domestic users are
not allowed to waste GW.
Tribal issues are being investigated separately and are not included in this evaluation. The
results of the tribal investigations could affect this analysis and should be considered
upon their completion, and/or as part of OCWP implementation activities. Additionally, the
riparian rights doctrine, which is not evaluated in this report, could affect the findings of
these analyses. Results could also vary as additional aquifers are studied and temporary
permits are converted to regular permits.
2.2 Groundwater Permitting Availability
2.2.1 Methodology
The permit availability of GW was determined for each of the 82 OCWP basins, including
areas with and without studied GW basins. The OCWP basins were defined based on
surface watersheds. Therefore, Oklahoma's GW aquifers typically span multiple OCWP
basins.
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-3
Figure 2-1 - Aquifer Equal Proportionate Share
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-4
To calculate the maximum permit GW availability (quantity that could be permitted), a
hypothetical regular or temporary permit was assigned to the entire state. Areas with
regular permits were determined from the OWRB major and minor aquifer geographic
information system (GIS) data files as shown in Figure 2-1. EPS GW withdrawals were
calculated by multiplying the area of the GW basin in each OCWP basin by the EPS.
Temporary permit withdrawals were calculated by multiplying the remaining area of each
OCWP basin (i.e., the area not covered by a GW basin with a defined EPS) by 2 AFY per
acre. The total permit availability was determined by summing the temporary and EPS
withdrawal volumes. The total permit availability therefore effectively includes amounts
that could be authorized by the two major types of permits. The current permit availability
was estimated by subtracting the existing active GW rights from the total permit
availability. The estimated current GW permits were developed using the 2007 records,
which were available at the time of the analysis, and the OCWP demand projections. The
portion of demand met by SW was calculated using the current (2010) SW and GW supply
proportions. Since forfeiture of existing groundwater permits is rare, all existing active
rights were used to conservatively represent the current portion of each basin that is not
available for permits.
To address overlying aquifers (shown in Figure 2-1), the following simplifying assumptions
were made:
 In areas with overlapping aquifers, the GW permit availability was based on the aquifer
with an EPS.
 If more than one aquifer with an EPS was present, then the larger EPS was used.
 Only one GW permit was assigned for a given acre. OWRB protocol allows more than
one permit to be assigned per acre, but this is a rare occurrence. Therefore, to be
conservative, it was assumed that only one permit authorizing use of GW underlying
each acre could be issued.
The quantity of GW that would need to be permitted by 2060 was estimated for each
OCWP basin by summing the existing active GW rights and the increase in projected GW
demand from 2010 to 2060. Demand increases were calculated using the future (2060)
SW and GW supply proportions in each OCWP basin.
A GW permit availability was estimated for the current (2010) and long-term (2060). The
permit availability gap was calculated by subtracting the projected 2060 estimated GW
permits from the total quantity that could be permitted in each OCWP basin. Since some
existing rights are not currently 100 percent utilized, the projected 2060 GW permits used
in this analysis may be greater than the projected future GW demand and thus provides a
conservative forecast.
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-5
2.2.2 Results
The GW permit availability analyses identified no GW permitting gaps in the state in the
near-term or long-term (2060) timeframe. As shown in Table 2-1, the projected increase in
GW demands from 2010 to 2060 (assuming the continued use of the current supply
proportions of SW and GW sources), is less in each OCWP basin than the amount of GW
available for new permits in 2010 under current law and permitting protocol. The
estimated amount of groundwater that will be available for new permits in 2060 in each
basin is shown graphically in Figure 2-2. As the remaining aquifers are studied and
assigned an EPS, the available water for permits may increase or decrease relative to the
temporary permit value of 2.0 AFY per acre. As a reminder, the available GW for permits
does not consider the physical ability to extract GW (i.e., "wet water") in a given basin and
does not distinguish between alluvial and bedrock GW. Physical supply availability is
evaluated and documented separately from this analysis.
Table 2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Maximum
Potential GW
Permits
(AFY)1
Total
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2010
(AFY)2
Projected
Increase
in GW
Use 2010-
2060
(AFY)
Remaining
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2060
(AFY)
1 10100 Red River
Mainstem (To
Kiamichi River)
544,100 543,800 100 543,700
2 10201 Little River
(McCurtain
County) - 1
417,600 417,600 100 417,500
3 10202 Little River
(McCurtain
County) - 2
1,615,300 1,615,100 100 1,615,000
4 10203 Little River
(McCurtain
County) - 3
708,300 708,400 100 708,300
5 10301 Kiamichi River -
1
506,100 502,300 100 502,200
6 10302 Kiamichi River -
2
1,853,000 1,852,600 100 1,852,500
7 10411 Muddy Boggy
River - 1
466,600 463,100 100 463,000
8 10412 Muddy Boggy
River - 2
1,394,700 1,390,300 400 1,389,900
9 10420 Clear Boggy
Creek
1,310,400 1,304,900 100 1,304,800
10 10500 Red River
Mainstem (To
Blue River)
293,600 290,100 100 290,000
11 10601 Blue River - 1 295,300 293,500 100 293,400
12 10602 Blue River - 2 613,900 546,600 200 546,400
13 10700 Red River
Mainstem (To
Washita)
439,900 432,400 100 432,300
14 10810 Lower Washita 2,283,500 2,250,800 500 2,250,300
15 10821 Middle Washita
- 1
579,400 566,500 200 566,300
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-6
Table 2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Maximum
Potential GW
Permits
(AFY)1
Total
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2010
(AFY)2
Projected
Increase
in GW
Use 2010-
2060
(AFY)
Remaining
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2060
(AFY)
16 10822 Middle Washita
- 2
1,366,800 1,325,900 400 1,325,500
17 10831 Upper Washita -
1
288,400 259,100 300 258,800
18 10832 Upper Washita -
2
393,800 263,000 500 262,500
19 10833 Upper Washita -
3
1,999,300 1,887,700 300 1,887,400
20 10840 Washita
Headwaters
1,342,700 1,230,800 400 1,230,400
21 10900 Red River
Mainstem (To
Walnut Bayou)
2,228,400 2,182,700 500 2,182,200
22 11000 Walnut Bayou 435,600 417,300 400 416,900
23 11100 Mud Creek 831,200 821,400 100 821,300
24 11201 Beaver Creek -
1
136,100 134,500 100 134,400
25 11202 Beaver Creek -
2
642,400 624,100 200 623,900
26 11203 Beaver Creek -
3
248,800 247,200 100 247,100
27 11311 Cache Creek - 1 97,500 97,200 100 97,100
28 11312 Cache Creek - 2 771,900 762,500 200 762,300
29 11321 Deep Red River
And West
Cache Creek - 1
515,700 510,000 200 509,800
30 11322 Deep Red River
And West
Cache Creek - 2
593,700 592,700 100 592,600
31 11400 Red River
Mainstem (To
North Fork of
Red)
552,700 536,200 100 536,100
32 11511 Lower North
Fork Red River -
1
132,600 109,600 100 109,500
33 11512 Lower North
Fork Red River -
2
371,800 352,400 100 352,300
34 11513 Lower North
Fork Red River -
3
851,200 838,200 200 838,000
35 11514 Lower North
Fork Red River -
4
153,900 153,300 100 153,200
36 11521 Upper North
Fork Red River -
1
167,900 148,400 200 148,200
37 11522 Upper North
Fork Red River -
2
649,100 582,700 200 582,500
38 11601 Salt Fork Red
River - 1
674,800 635,400 300 635,100
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-7
Table 2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Maximum
Potential GW
Permits
(AFY)1
Total
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2010
(AFY)2
Projected
Increase
in GW
Use 2010-
2060
(AFY)
Remaining
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2060
(AFY)
39 11602 Salt Fork Red
River - 2
222,200 217,600 100 217,500
40 11701 Prairie Dog
Town Fork Red
River - 1
361,400 352,300 200 352,100
41 11702 Prairie Dog
Town Fork Red
River - 2
309,600 242,300 300 242,000
42 11801 Elm Fork Red
River - 1
126,100 118,300 300 118,000
43 11802 Elm Fork Red
River - 2
568,700 567,800 100 567,700
44 20101 Poteau River - 1 125,600 125,600 100 125,500
45 20102 Poteau River - 2 1,600,700 1,598,400 100 1,598,300
46 20201 Lower Arkansas
River - 1
1,833,500 1,818,400 300 1,818,100
47 20202 Lower Arkansas
River - 1
1,253,100 1,242,000 200 1,241,800
48 20300 Canadian River
(To North
Canadian River)
4,054,500 4,042,700 500 4,042,200
49 20400 Middle Arkansas
River
1,692,600 1,676,900 300 1,676,600
50 20510 Lower North
Canadian River
1,239,400 1,143,500 1,000 1,142,500
51 20520 Middle North
Canadian River
708,400 633,600 600 633,000
52 20531 Upper North
Canadian River
- 1
860,700 805,900 100 805,800
53 20532 Upper North
Canadian River
- 2
1,686,000 1,477,800 700 1,477,100
54 20533 Upper North
Canadian River
- 3
581,600 498,900 700 498,200
55 20540 North Canadian
Headwaters
4,642,600 3,698,900 2,500 3,696,400
56 20611 Lower Canadian
River - 1
1,132,500 1,089,800 400 1,089,400
57 20612 Lower Canadian
River - 2
259,700 255,900 100 255,800
58 20620 Middle
Canadian River
876,000 810,500 500 810,000
59 20630 Upper Canadian
River
2,484,900 2,324,300 600 2,323,700
60 20700 Deep Fork River 2,572,100 2,527,700 600 2,527,100
61 20801 Little River - 1 368,200 365,900 100 365,800
62 20802 Little River - 2 768,900 728,600 400 728,200
63 20910 Lower Cimarron
River
1,332,200 1,322,900 300 1,322,600
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-8
Table 2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Maximum
Potential GW
Permits
(AFY)1
Total
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2010
(AFY)2
Projected
Increase
in GW
Use 2010-
2060
(AFY)
Remaining
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2060
(AFY)
64 20920 Middle Cimarron
River
4,586,200 4,390,800 1,300 4,389,500
65 20930 Upper Cimarron
River
2,506,400 2,380,700 600 2,380,100
66 20940 Cimarron
Headwaters
893,700 850,800 400 850,400
67 21011 Lower Salt Fork
of the Arkansas
River - 2
299,400 292,300 100 292,200
68 21012 Lower Salt Fork
of the Arkansas
River - 2
2,857,500 2,815,900 100 2,815,800
69 21013 Lower Salt Fork
of the Arkansas
River - 3
190,500 188,300 100 188,200
70 21020 Upper Salt Fork
of the Arkansas
River
286,100 281,500 300 281,200
71 21100 Arkansas River -
Cimarron Rivers
to Keystone
Lake
2,596,600 2,575,800 300 2,575,500
72 21200 Arkansas River
Mainstem (To
Kansas State
Line)
1,908,000 1,868,600 300 1,868,300
73 21301 Bird Creek - 1 229,900 229,900 100 229,800
74 21302 Bird Creek - 2 1,226,000 1,224,900 100 1,224,800
75 21401 Caney River - 1 206,200 206,300 100 206,200
76 21402 Caney River - 2 1,300,200 1,300,200 100 1,300,100
77 21511 Verdigris River
(To Oologah
Dam) - 1
502,600 502,600 100 502,500
78 21512 Verdigris River
(To Oologah
Dam) - 2
411,500 411,600 100 411,500
79 21520 Verdigris River
(To Kansas
State Line)
1,052,500 1,052,500 100 1,052,400
80 21601 Grand (Nesho)
River - 1
2,638,300 2,628,100 400 2,627,700
81 21602 Grand (Nesho)
River - 2
1,155,900 1,137,100 400 1,136,700
82 21700 Illinois River 1,147,800 1,143,700 100 1,143,600
1 Maximum potential permits includes overall total permit capacity based on EPS and temporary permits
before considering any existing permits. A portion of the maximum potential permits is already allocated
to existing permits.
2 Available water for new permits is the maximum potential permits minus 2010 GW permits in the basin
(2010 permits were estimated as 2007 actual permits plus estimated increase in GW use from 2007 to
2010).
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-9
Figure 2-2 – Estimated Available Groundwater in 2060 for New Permits
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-10
2.3 Surface Water Permitting Availability
2.3.1 Methodology
The SW permitting availability was determined for each of the 82 OCWP basins. Future SW
withdrawals may not impact existing SW rights as they would be junior to existing water
rights. Therefore, the obligations both upstream and downstream were considered. Those
obligations include existing active rights, potential future permits defined by the demand
projections, domestic water use, interstate river compact obligations, and reservoir
dependable yields.
The quantity of SW that would need to be permitted by 2060 was estimated for each
OCWP basin using the following methodologies that follow OWRB SW permitting protocol:
 Existing active rights were allocated to each basin by the location of the SW withdrawal,
which was available from the OWRB water rights database.
 The estimated SW permits that will be needed in 2060 were determined by summing
the existing active SW rights (annual quantity) and the increase in total SW permit need
from 2010 to 2060, which was calculated based on existing schedules of use and SW
demand projections. Since some existing permits are not currently 100 percent utilized,
the estimated 2060 SW permit need that was estimated for this analysis may be
greater than the projected total future demands and thus provides a conservative
forecast.
 The estimated current SW permits were developed using 2007 records, which were
available at the time of the analysis, and the OCWP demand projections. The portion of
demand met by SW was calculated using the current (2010) SW and GW supply
proportions.
 Existing active SW rights were used to represent the current SW that is unavailable for
new permits. The unavailable water includes the amount of permitted water listed in
schedules of use for the given analysis year. OWRB undertakes systematic reviews of
permits to assure beneficial use of the water, and portions of permits that are not used
for beneficial use or covered in a schedule of use may be forfeited.
 The increase in total SW permit need was calculated in two parts: projected increases
in non-municipal and industrial (M&I) demands, such as Crop Irrigation, and projected
increases in M&I demands or existing schedules of use. Future SW permits from non-
M&I demands were calculated as the increase in non-M&I demand from 2010 to 2060
using the future (2060) SW and GW supply proportions. Future SW permits from M&I
demands were calculated as the larger of (1) the increase in active permitted diversions
due to schedules of use from 2010 to 2060, or (2) the increase in M&I demand from
2010 to 2060 using the future (2060) SW and GW supply proportions for each basin.
 Oil and Gas users currently use 90-day temporary permits for well drilling and
development activities. Oil and gas activities were assigned a general permit for
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-11
consistency in the analysis, where the general permit amount is equal to the sum of the
90 day permits for the year.
 Upstream and downstream permits were included as permit obligations for each basin.
OWRB applies case by case analyses when permitting on the mainstem of a river, which
includes the OCWP basin's outlet. To systematically account for mainstem permitting on
a statewide basis, all upstream basins were taken into account. The immediate
downstream basin was included in the basin's permit obligation. Permit availability gaps
due to downstream basin's estimated future permits were flagged as a mainstem
restriction.
 Domestic uses were calculated as 6 AFY per quarter section (160 acres) of the total
basin area. Non-consumptive uses were not incorporated in the analysis, consistent
with current law and permitting practice.
 Consistent with OWRB methodology and assumptions to recognize typical compact
apportionment provisions, upstream states are typically recognized to be able to use
60 percent of the measured historical stream flow at the Oklahoma border; however,
actual compact provisions are reviewed on an ad hoc basis for potential availability
issues. The presumed reduction in flow is then accounted for in all downstream basins
within Oklahoma.
 Arkansas was allocated (for purposes of this report) 40 percent of runoff generated in
OCWP basins 44, 45, 46, 47, and 82 based on the Arkansas River Basin Compact
between Arkansas and Oklahoma. Runoff is defined for purposes of this report only as
the measured stream flow. This is a conservative assumption because return flows
from uses in the basin will result in higher measured flows.
 Downstream states on the Red River were allocated (for purposes of this report only)
40 percent of runoff generated in basins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.
Runoff was defined as the measured stream flow. Note, the above methodology is a
simplification of the compact apportionment provisions. The Red River Compact has a
different definition of runoff, and "undesignated flow" is separately defined in the Red
River Compact for the apportionment provisions.
 Reservoir dependable yields from the OWRB water rights database were used. The
yields reflect all reservoir conservation pool allocations (irrigation, water quality, water
storage, etc.). Reservoir dependable yields and associated permits were not double
counted.
 NRCS reservoirs without dependable yields were included based on their normal
storage volume. NRCS reservoirs and associated permits were not double counted.
Permits were associated with NRCS reservoirs based on being within a half mile of the
reservoir dam location.
 Upstream estimated future permits were accounted for in all downstream basins.
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-12
 Permit availability was not analyzed for GRDA's area of responsibility (Basins 80 and
81).
For each basin, the estimated 2060 SW permit need was subtracted from average annual
measured historical stream flow (adjusted based on the presumed compact constraints)
to determine the SW permit availability gap. Average annual stream flow (using data from
1951 through 1980 per OWRB protocol at the time of this analysis) was determined from
the monthly SW supplies calculated separately in the physical supply availability analysis.
Average annual stream flows were used in this analysis, following OWRB permitting
protocol.
2.3.2 Differences in USACE Reservoir Contracts and Permitting
Differences in accounting between state and federal agencies can require additional
consideration when obtaining permits for water from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) reservoirs. OWRB permitting allows for permits with schedule of use to be applied
to reservoirs, including federal reservoirs. The USACE issues storage contracts based on
the amount of water currently used by an entity. A State of Oklahoma permit is required by
the USACE before a contract will be issued. Therefore, it is possible for the USACE to have
available storage to contract and the reservoir yield to be fully permitted, since some
portion of the permit may be based on a schedule of use. When investigating a possibility
of obtaining water from a USACE reservoir, it is best to first confirm the permit availability
with OWRB.
These accounting issues do not arise with Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs and the
associated master conservancy or irrigation districts.
2.3.3 Protecting Yield above Federal Reservoirs
The yield of all conservation pools (water supply, thermo-electric power, navigation, etc.) of
federal reservoirs must be protected from future development. Many federal reservoirs
provide multiple years of water supply; therefore, withdrawals above these reservoirs may
be curtailed even when there is ample flowing water in the stream.
2.3.4 Results
The results of the SW permit availability analyses are presented in Table 2-2. The
estimated gaps in SW permits in 2010 are presented in Figure 2-2. The estimated
available streamflow for new permits in 2060 is presented in Figure 2-3. This represents
the SW that could be permitted in a given basin after satisfying existing permits and
schedules of use, and after satisfying the amount of new permits that would be needed to
accommodate the basin's projected growth in SW use from 2010 through 2060. New
permits to accommodate the projected growth in SW use were assumed to be needed only
to the degree that existing permits and schedules of use cannot accommodate the
projected 2060 SW use.
The results show that there is sufficient available SW permit capacity in the majority of the
OCWP basins in 2060. That is, projected SW demands in 2060 (assuming continued use of
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-13
the current supply proportions of SW and GW sources) could be fully permitted using current
law and permitting protocol. Shortages in available water permits (insufficient permitted
water availability for projected 2060 demands) are projected in 22 of the 82 OCWP basins
across the state. The shortages begin in the first year of the analysis (2010) in 19 of these
22 basins. Shortages in Basin 32 (Lower North Fork of the Red River - 1) start in 2060 and
shortages in Basin 33 (Lower North Fork of the Red River - 2) start in 2020. A summary of
the permit obligations on each basin with a gap is presented for the 2060 results in
Table 2-3. As stated in the methodology, basins with permit availability gaps that are smaller
than the estimated SW permits in the immediate downstream basin were flagged as
mainstem restrictions. The SW permit availability gaps tend to occur in the western half of
the state.
Table 2-2 Projected Permit Availability of Surface Water in 2010 and 2060
OCWP
Basin #
Basin
ID Basin Name
Average
Annual
Stream Flow
1951 - 1980
(AFY)
Estimated
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)2
Estimated
Gaps in
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)3
Remaining
Water for
Permits (or Gaps
in Available
Water for
Permits) in 2060
(AFY)3
Potential
Restrictions to
Permitting on
Mainstem of
Creek or River
10100 1 Red River Mainstem (To
Kiamichi River)
368,800 207,100 0 205,300 No
10201 2 Little River (McCurtain
County) - 1
2,439,900 1,939,200 0 1,929,300 No
10202 3 Little River (McCurtain
County) - 2
1,150,000 958,000 0 952,400 No
10203 4 Little River (McCurtain
County) - 3
896,500 488,600 0 483,700 No
10301 5 Kiamichi River - 1 1,528,000 1,285,600 0 1,258,600 No
10302 6 Kiamichi River - 2 1,205,300 894,800 0 867,900 No
10411 7 Muddy Boggy River - 1 1,170,900 925,000 0 897,500 No
10412 8 Muddy Boggy River - 2 584,600 388,800 0 364,000 No
10420 9 Clear Boggy Creek 435,400 319,300 0 316,400 No
10500 10 Red River Mainstem (To Blue
River)
87,800 43,900 0 43,600 No
10601 11 Blue River - 1 275,800 200,300 0 196,200 No
10602 12 Blue River - 2 191,800 144,700 0 140,600 No
10700 13 Red River Mainstem (To
Washita)
131,500 79,900 0 78,600 No
10810 14 Lower Washita 830,300 303,800 0 260,500 No
10821 15 Middle Washita - 1 426,100 62,900 0 27,200 No
10822 16 Middle Washita - 2 321,100 22,700 0 Gap (-700) No
10831 17 Upper Washita - 1 217,000 0 -14,900 Gap (-36,500) Yes
10832 18 Upper Washita - 2 16,400 0 -21,100 Gap (-28,400) No
10833 19 Upper Washita - 3 183,300 0 -13,100 Gap (-27,000) Yes
10840 20 Washita Headwaters 89,300 0 -87,900 Gap (-99,000) Yes
10900 21 Red River Mainstem (To
Walnut Bayou)
1,509,400 909,900 0 866,700 No
11000 22 Walnut Bayou 22,700 5,500 0 4,500 No
11100 23 Mud Creek 99,500 82,400 0 82,200 No
11201 24 Beaver Creek - 1 122,400 78,800 0 49,800 No
11202 25 Beaver Creek - 2 71,000 33,100 0 4,500 No
11203 26 Beaver Creek - 3 33,200 16,100 0 6,800 No
11311 27 Cache Creek - 1 262,000 171,300 0 156,500 No
11312 28 Cache Creek - 2 101,300 43,900 0 30,600 No
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-14
Table 2-2 Projected Permit Availability of Surface Water in 2010 and 2060
OCWP
Basin #
Basin
ID Basin Name
Average
Annual
Stream Flow
1951 - 1980
(AFY)
Estimated
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)2
Estimated
Gaps in
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)3
Remaining
Water for
Permits (or Gaps
in Available
Water for
Permits) in 2060
(AFY)3
Potential
Restrictions to
Permitting on
Mainstem of
Creek or River
11321 29 Deep Red River And West
Cache Creek - 1
145,200 107,700 0 106,000 No
11322 30 Deep Red River And West
Cache Creek - 2
79,600 35,100 0 33,500 No
11400 31 Red River Mainstem (To
North Fork of Red)
69,100 55,100 0 55,000 No
11511 32 Lower North Fork Red River -
1
254,700 7,400 0 Gap (-2,600) No
11512 33 Lower North Fork Red River -
2
248,700 600 0 Gap (-9,300) Yes
11513 34 Lower North Fork Red River -
3
200,000 0 -40,400 Gap (-48,100) No
11514 35 Lower North Fork Red River -
4
13,000 0 -16,100 Gap (-19,600) Yes
11521 36 Upper North Fork Red River -
1
49,300 0 -133,300 Gap (-139,100) No
11522 37 Upper North Fork Red River -
2
85,300 0 -67,400 Gap (-67,600) Yes
11601 38 Salt Fork Red River - 1 113,600 15,000 0 8,800 No
11602 39 Salt Fork Red River - 2 61,800 0 -33,700 Gap (-39,900) Yes
11701 40 Prairie Dog Town Fork Red
River - 1
11,400 0 -6,700 Gap (-6,900) No
11702 41 Prairie Dog Town Fork Red
River - 2
12,800 0 -5,300 Gap (-5,500) Yes
11801 42 Elm Fork Red River - 1 77,300 12,900 0 6,700 No
11802 43 Elm Fork Red River - 2 67,700 35,100 0 34,600 No
20101 44 Poteau River - 1 1,411,100 987,900 0 962,400 No
20102 45 Poteau River - 2 1,340,400 995,800 0 979,400 No
20201 46 Lower Arkansas River - 1 21,496,800 11,211,200 0 10,606,700 No
20202 47 Lower Arkansas River - 2 18,750,200 9,466,300 0 8,878,300 No
20300 48 Canadian River (To North
Canadian River)
3,264,500 2,019,300 0 1,802,400 No
20400 49 Middle Arkansas River 5,515,700 3,179,600 0 2,952,400 No
20510 50 Lower North Canadian River 409,400 0 -174,900 Gap (-243,000) Yes
20520 51 Middle North Canadian River 112,400 0 -292,400 Gap (-317,300) No
20531 52 Upper North Canadian River -
1
111,600 0 -242,000 Gap (-247,100) No
20532 53 Upper North Canadian River -
2
118,400 0 -115,500 Gap (-118,600) No
20533 54 Upper North Canadian River -
3
38,900 0 -35,300 Gap (-38,100) Yes
20540 55 North Canadian Headwaters 64,500 0 -108,800 Gap (-109,200) No
20611 56 Lower Canadian River - 1 874,800 376,500 0 301,300 No
20612 57 Lower Canadian River - 2 39,100 32,400 0 31,500 No
20620 58 Middle Canadian River 475,200 202,400 0 178,300 No
20630 59 Upper Canadian River 242,600 39,700 0 30,500 No
20700 60 Deep Fork River 483,900 188,200 0 126,700 No
20801 61 Little River - 1 197,500 77,300 0 55,400 No
20802 62 Little River - 2 97,700 51,400 0 44,500 No
20910 63 Lower Cimarron River 833,300 473,500 0 455,100 No
20920 64 Middle Cimarron River 624,900 342,500 0 331,200 No
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-15
Table 2-2 Projected Permit Availability of Surface Water in 2010 and 2060
OCWP
Basin #
Basin
ID Basin Name
Average
Annual
Stream Flow
1951 - 1980
(AFY)
Estimated
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)2
Estimated
Gaps in
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)3
Remaining
Water for
Permits (or Gaps
in Available
Water for
Permits) in 2060
(AFY)3
Potential
Restrictions to
Permitting on
Mainstem of
Creek or River
20930 65 Upper Cimarron River 110,300 0 -129,600 Gap (-137,000) No
20940 66 Cimarron Headwaters 16,300 0 -71,100 Gap (-72,600) No
21011 67 Lower Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River - 1
918,400 337,300 0 249,000 No
21012 68 Lower Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River - 2
490,400 275,000 0 274,500 No
21013 69 Lower Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River - 3
383,600 168,400 0 165,500 No
21020 70 Upper Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River
355,600 148,800 0 146,200 No
21100 71 Arkansas River - Cimarron
Rivers to Keystone Lake
5,171,900 3,041,200 0 2,912,600 No
21200 72 Arkansas River Mainstem (To
Kansas State Line)
3,636,800 1,938,600 0 1,846,200 No
21301 73 Bird Creek - 1 404,100 195,600 0 90,000 No
21302 74 Bird Creek - 2 340,600 224,500 0 208,500 No
21401 75 Caney River - 1 761,700 391,700 0 261,100 No
21402 76 Caney River - 2 704,800 433,500 0 392,400 No
21511 77 Verdigris River (To Oologah
Dam) - 1
3,186,800 1,508,600 0 1,234,600 No
21512 78 Verdigris River (To Oologah
Dam) - 2
3,034,700 1,573,600 0 1,398,200 No
21520 79 Verdigris River (To Kansas
State Line)
1,827,100 721,200 0 623,200 No
21601 80 Grand (Neosho) River - 1 5,688,900 Under GRDA Authority
21602 81 Grand (Neosho) River - 2 4,703,300 Under GRDA Authority
21700 82 Illinois River 968,500 317,500 0 170,200 No
1 Values may include both runoff and undesignated flow for basins under the Red River Compact. Additionally, in basin number
53, Upper North Canadian River – 2, it is not clear how the Palo Duro Reservoir and dispute under the Canadian River Compact
may affect the streamflow available for new permits.
2 A portion of the Estimated Available Water for Permits in 2010 will be used to satisfy schedules of use for years beyond 2010.
The amount of water available for new permits is the amount shown minus the difference between the ultimate maximum AFY
indicated in the schedule of use and the 2010 AFY value shown in the schedule of use.
3 Gaps in Permit Availability in 2010 and 2060 include existing SW rights, schedules of use for the subject year, and the projected
increase in SW demands. The increase in SW demand was calculated using the existing SW/GW supply proportions for each
basin.
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-16
Figure 2-3 - Estimated Surface Water Permit Availability Gaps in 2010
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-17
Figure 2-4 - Estimated Available Surface Water in 2060 for New Permits
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-18
Table 2-3 Source of Permitted Withdrawals for Projected 2060 Surface Water Permit Availability Gaps
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Average
Annual
Stream
Flow (AFY)
Projected Permitted Demands in
2060 (AFY)
Reservoir
Dependable
Yield (AFY)
Reservoir
Dependable
Yield That is Not
Currently
Permitted
(AFY) 1
NRCS Reservoir
Storage (AF)2
Upstream
Compact
Obligations
(AFY)
Downstream
Compact
Obligations
(AFY)
Total Projected
Permitted
Demands in 2060
(AFY)
Annual Permit
Availability Gaps
in 2060 (AFY)3
Potential
Restrictions to
Permitting on
Mainstem of
Creek or River
2060 Permits
and Domestic
Use for Current
and Upstream
Basins (AFY)
2060 Permits
and Domestic
Use for
Downstream
Basin (AFY)
16 10822 Middle Washita - 2 321,100 244,700 23,000 0 0 46,900 7,100 0 321,700 ‐700 Yes
17 10831 Upper Washita - 1 217,000 188,500 53,500 0 0 1,700 7,100 0 250,800 -33,800 Yes
18 10832 Upper Washita - 2 16,400 26,600 15,000 18,000 0 2,300 0 0 43,900 -27,500 No
19 10833 Upper Washita - 3 183,300 146,800 15,000 0 0 39,300 7,100 0 208,200 -25,000 No
20 10840 Washita Headwaters 89,300 32,400 114,400 18,000 400 32,900 7,100 0 187,200 -97,900 Yes
32 11511 Lower North Fork Red
River - 1
254,700 199,400 0 0 0 0 56,600 0 256,000 -1,300 No
33 11512 Lower North Fork Red
River - 2
248,700 195,700 3,700 0 0 700 56,600 0 256,700 -8,100 No
34 11513 Lower North Fork Red
River - 3
200,000 164,200 20,400 0 0 5,600 56,600 0 246,800 -46,800 No
35 11514 Lower North Fork Red
River - 4
13,000 11,100 20,400 16,000 0 600 0 0 32,100 -19,100 Yes
36 11521 Upper North Fork Red
River - 1
49,300 112,800 36,200 47,100 0 0 38,100 0 187,100 -137,800 No
37 11522 Upper North Fork Red
River - 2
85,300 17,700 95,100 0 0 1,900 38,100 0 152,800 -67,500 Yes
39 11602 Salt Fork Red River - 2 61,800 4,400 64,400 0 0 0 32,700 0 101,500 -39,700 Yes
40 11701 Prairie Dog Town Fork
Red River - 1
11,400 16,400 0 0 0 0 1,800 0 18,200 -6,800 No
41 11702 Prairie Dog Town Fork
Red River - 2
12,800 8,200 8,200 0 0 0 1,800 0 18,200 -5,400 Yes
50 20510 Lower North Canadian
River
409,400 368,300 219,200 4,400 0 9,300 59,800 0 656,600 -247,200 No
51 20520 Middle North Canadian
River
112,400 280,100 88,100 5,000 0 700 59,800 0 428,700 -316,300 No
52 20531 Upper North Canadian
River - 1
111,600 177,400 102,700 18,500 0 0 59,800 0 339,900 -246,700 No
53 20532 Upper North Canadian
River - 2
118,400 154,900 22,500 0 0 0 59,800 0 237,200 -118,800 No
54 20533 Upper North Canadian
River - 3
38,900 22,700 39,300 200 0 0 15,300 0 77,300 -38,300 Yes
55 20540 North Canadian
Headwaters
64,500 92,900 39,300 0 0 0 41,900 0 174,100 -109,500 No
65 20930 Upper Cimarron River 110,300 81,600 112,300 0 0 0 49,400 0 243,300 -133,000 No
66 20940 Cimarron Headwaters 16,300 21,600 60,000 0 0 0 6,900 0 88,500 -72,300 No
1 Reservoir Dependable Yield was included in the calculation as permits and the portion of the yield that was not permitted.
2 NRCS Reservoir Storage were included in the calculation as permits and the portion of the normal storage that was not permitted.
3 Minor differences may occur when comparing the input data and the Annual Permit Availability Gaps in 2060 due to rounding.
A 3-1
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
3.1 Introduction
The purpose of this section is to review the four interstate river compacts that Oklahoma
has entered into, to discuss their purposes and apportionments of water between the
signatory states, and water availability under current and future conditions. The interstate
river compacts Oklahoma has entered into were evaluated to assess the potential for
projected water needs and water development in Oklahoma through the 50-year OCWP
planning period relative to compact conditions.
To provide background on the subject, this section first describes what an interstate river
compact is and discusses the benefits and obligations of an interstate river compact as
well as the consequences of not complying with the compact.
An interstate river compact is a formal written agreement between two or more states to
divide or share the waters of a river that flows in each of the states. The compact must be
approved by the legislatures of each state and approved by the U.S. Congress so that it
becomes an enforceable statute in each state as well as federal law.
The benefits of entering into a compact vary between them but the overriding benefit is to
reduce future disagreements and possible litigation between states over the waters of an
interstate river. It also provides certainty to each state on what it can do under the
compact to develop and use the waters of the compacted river including future
development as the increase in demand may dictate.
An interstate river compact also has obligations on each state as to how water may be
diverted and stored for use in the state while allowing remaining flows to pass
downstream to other signatory states that may also have diversion or storage provisions
imposed by the compact. Often, annual accounting by a compact commission is required
to determine the amount of water used under the compact and if each state complied with
the compact.
An interstate river compact, if not complied with, can result in litigation between the
signatory states before the U. S. Supreme Court. These lawsuits begin in the U.S. Supreme
Court, which has original jurisdiction over disputes between states. When Oklahoma and
Texas brought suit against New Mexico under the Canadian River Compact, it was
assigned No. 109, Original as the case number. In the Oklahoma and Texas vs. New
Mexico (No. 109 Original) litigation, the lawsuit was settled in a stipulated judgment and
New Mexico was required to release about 170,000 acre-feet (AF) from storage spread
over 9 years and pay attorney costs of $200,000 to each state. Thus, it can be seen that
compliance with the provisions of interstate river compacts is an important obligation for
each signatory state.
Oklahoma has entered into four interstate river compacts, including two compacts on the
Arkansas River; one with Kansas and one with Arkansas. It also is a signatory state with
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-2
New Mexico and Texas on the Canadian River Compact, and has entered into a compact
with Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana on the Red River. The figure below depicts the river
basins associated with these compacts.
Figure 3-1 Oklahoma's Interstate River Compacts
The remainder of this section discusses each of the four compacts in more detail and
presents the apportionment to each state, the operation and accounting under the
compact commission, the commission duties, meeting and reports, and water supply
conditions, both current and possible additional uses that may be possible under the
compact to meet future demand.
3.2 Canadian River Compact (1950)
3.2.1 Purposes
The Canadian River Compact was signed on December 6, 1950 in Santa Fe, New Mexico
by the representatives of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and the United States. In addition
to removing causes for present and future controversies, the compact intent was to make
secure and protect present developments within the states and to provide for the
construction of additional works for the conservation of the waters of the Canadian River
(Article I).
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-3
3.2.2 Geographical Area of Influence
The Canadian River Compact covers the entire area of the Canadian River basin from its
headwaters in New Mexico to its confluence with the Arkansas River in Oklahoma on the
Canadian River. The compact uses the term "Canadian River" to represent the Canadian
River and its tributaries with the exception of the "North Canadian River," which is used to
designate waters from that tributary independently of the Canadian River.
3.2.3 Apportionment of Water
The compact provides free and unrestricted use to all waters in the respective states, as
described above, with limitations on the total amount of conservation storage in each
state. Conservation storage excludes any reservoir capacity allocated solely for flood
control, power production, or sediment control (Article II).
New Mexico has free and unrestricted use of all waters originating above Conchas Dam
(Article IV), which was developed in 1938 before the compact (1950). Free and
unrestricted uses of waters originating below Conchas Dam are also provided to New
Mexico with two caveats:
 New Mexico's conservation storage on the Canadian River is limited to an aggregate of
200,000 AF annually even though maximum storage content may exceed this amount.
 New Mexico conservation storage on the North Canadian River is "limited to the storage
of such water as at the time may be unappropriated under the laws of New Mexico and
of Oklahoma." (Article IV)
Texas has free and unrestricted use of all Canadian River waters in Texas (Article V),
subject to the following limitations upon storage of water:
 Texas can impound water in tributaries of the North Canadian River for municipal,
household and domestic uses, livestock watering, and irrigation, which are used to
provide food or feed to householders and domestic livestock kept on the property.
 Texas can impound 500,000 AF of conservation storage in the Canadian River basin,
until Oklahoma achieves 300,000 AF of conservation storage in the Canadian River
basin. Once Oklahoma achieves 300,000 AF of storage, Texas is entitled to store no
more than 200,000 AF of conservation storage plus "whatever amount of water shall be
at the same time in conservation storage in reservoirs in the drainage basin of the
Canadian River in Oklahoma." All storage calculations exclude:
 Reservoirs on the North Canadian River in Texas
 Waters of the North Canadian River in Oklahoma
 Reservoirs east of the 97th meridian on the Canadian River [in Oklahoma]
Oklahoma is entitled to all Canadian River water originating in Oklahoma (Article VI).
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-4
3.2.4 Compact Operation and Accounting
The Canadian River Commission consists of one representative of each state and one
from the federal government who is the chair of the commission and is a non-voting
member. The commission requires a unanimous vote of the three states to approve any
action. The commission meets annually and submits a report to the President of the
United States and the Governors of each state (Article IX).
The commission's annual report includes an inventory of reservoirs with maximum
capacity in the Canadian River basin, in each state, as well as maximum conservation
storage for the compact year. New Mexico has constructed 10 reservoirs with a maximum
capacity of 235,655 AF (March 1, 2004 Annual Report, Canadian River Compact
Commission) below Conchas Reservoir.
Texas has constructed reservoirs with a maximum storage capacity of 828,049 AF in the
Canadian River basin. The main reservoir for Texas is Lake Meredith with a maximum
capacity of 817,970 AF. It is the primary water supply for 11 cities in Texas according to
Herman Settemeyer, Engineer Advisor for Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality, in a phone interview on February 2, 2009. Lake Meredith is extremely low in
conservation storage due to drought over the last 10 years and water is being pumped
from the dead pool. On the North Canadian River, Texas has constructed reservoirs with a
storage capacity of 62,563 AF with the major reservoir being Palo Duro with a capacity of
60,900 AF and maximum conservation storage in 2003 of 4,759 AF.
East of the 97th Meridian, Oklahoma has constructed 38 reservoirs (over 100 AF in
capacity) with a maximum storage capacity of 2,612,831 AF. The largest reservoir is Lake
Eufaula, with a capacity of 2,330,000 AF (March 1, 2004 Annual Report). Oklahoma has
constructed 11,875 AF of storage west of the 97th Meridian. On the North Canadian River,
Oklahoma has constructed 94 reservoirs (over 100 AF in capacity) that have a total of
428,766 AF of capacity. Currently, the conservation storage is much less than this due to
drought conditions and Lake Optima is dry, which is the largest reservoir on the North
Canadian River in Oklahoma with a capacity of 129,000 AF. According to Dean Couch,
OWRB, in a phone interview on February 5, 2009, the USACE has determined that the
yield of Optima Reservoir is 0 AF due to drought and the presumed impact of Ogallala
aquifer pumping.
3.2.5 Water Availability
It appears that the water supply available to Oklahoma from the North Canadian River has
been fully appropriated below Canton Lake and the flows of the Canadian River west of
the 97th Meridian are such that additional development is not contemplated (Dean
Couch, February 5, 2009). The Canadian River east of the 97th Meridian has more reliable
flows due to increased precipitation and the flows below Lake Eufaula average over
6,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) for the last 41 years, which is 4,745,000 AFY. However,
during the 2006 drought, the flow averaged 357 cfs or 260,610 AF for the year. Lake
Eufaula is used for many purposes. The storage pool has been designated for use to
generate hydropower electricity. A change in use to allow additional municipal use from
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-5
the hydropower pool would require USACE approval. The cost per acre-foot to purchase
this water could discourage such a change. Lake Eufaula has 56,000 AF allocated to
water supply, not solely for municipal use, and 50,000 AF is under contract through the
USACE. It would appear that the ability to develop additional water supplies in the
Canadian River basin above Lake Eufaula is constrained by the physical supply and by the
water rights issued and contracted from Lake Eufaula. The Canadian River Compact does
not appear to impact water use east of the 97th Meridian.
It may be possible to divert water from the Canadian River below Lake Eufaula after the
water has passed through the hydroelectric facilities. Water quality does not appear to be
a significant issue (Personal Communication, Dean Couch).
3.3 Arkansas River Basin Compact, Kansas-Oklahoma
(1965)
3.3.1 Purposes
The major purposes of the Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact, as it is referred to
by the states, are to promote interstate comity (civility), to divide and apportion equitably
between the two states the waters of the Arkansas River basin and to promote the orderly
development thereof, to provide for an agency for administering the water apportionment
agreed to, and to encourage the maintenance of an active pollution-abatement program in
each of the states.
3.3.2 Geographical Area of Influence
The compact defines the Arkansas River basin as the Arkansas River from a point
immediately below the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers near
Wichita, Kansas to a point immediately below the confluence of the Arkansas River with
the Grand-Neosho River near Muskogee, Oklahoma and the tributaries that empty into this
reach of the Arkansas River (Article I).
3.3.3 Apportionment of Water
Like the Canadian River compact, the compact provides free and unrestricted use of water
in each state, while limiting the amount of conservation storage that Kansas can develop.
The water of the Arkansas River and its tributaries means the water originating in the
Arkansas River basin as defined above. The compact divides the watershed into five sub-basins
where limits to conservation storage have been agreed to. Conservation storage
capacity is defined as storage in excess of 100 AF for subsequent use, but not for "flood
control, sediment control, and inactive storage capacity allocated to other uses." New
conservation storage capacity is defined as conservation storage capacity for which
construction is initiated after July 1, 1963 and storage capacity not presently allocated for
conservation storage that is converted to conservation storage capacity after July 1, 1963
in excess of the quantities of declared conservation storage capacity as set forth in the
storage table attached to the minutes of the Twenty-fourth meeting of the Compact
Committee dated September 1, 1964 (Article II).
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-6
The apportionment of waters for storage in Kansas is as set forth below (Article V):
 Grand-Neosho River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 650,000 AF of storage plus an additional capacity equal to the
new conservation storage in Oklahoma.
 Spavinaw Creek is excluded from reciprocal storage volume in Oklahoma under
Article V(B) of the compact.
 Verdigris River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 300,000 AF of storage plus an additional capacity equal to the
new conservation storage in Oklahoma.
 The navigation capacity allocated in the Oologah Reservoir is excluded from the
compact.
 Salt Fork River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 300,000 AF of storage plus an additional capacity equal to the
new conservation storage in Oklahoma.
 Cimarron River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 5,000 AF of conservation storage.
 New conservation storage in excess of 5,000 AF requires approval of the
commission.
 Mainstem of the Arkansas River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 600,000 AF of storage plus an additional capacity equal to the
new conservation storage in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma shall have free and unrestricted use of the waters of the Arkansas River basin
in Oklahoma except that new conservation storage in the Cimarron River sub-basin shall
not exceed 5,000 AF, provided that new conservation storage capacity in excess of this
amount must be approved by the commission (Article VI).
The compact assigns exclusive use of any waters imported into the Arkansas River basin,
where any storage used for the imported water is excluded from new conservation
storage. Waters exported from the Arkansas River basin will be counted as new
conservation storage. The amount of new conservation storage will be equal to the actual
storage capacity used for the diversion or 5 AF of conservation storage for each average
annual acre-foot of water diverted with no storage (Article VIII).
Article IX discusses the pollution abatement responsibilities of the states to reduce
pollution within each state and to investigate and abate sources of alleged interstate
pollution. It further states that providing water for purpose of water quality control as a
substitute for adequate waste treatment is not acceptable.
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-7
3.3.4 Compact Operation and Accounting
Article X creates the Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission, which consists of
three commissioners from each state with one representative being the water official
responsible for administering water law in that state. The chairman of the commission is a
federal appointee who is a non-voting member of the commission. Each state shall have
one vote based on the majority opinion of that state's commissioners and a unanimous
vote is required for approval of any commission action.
The powers of the commission are set forth in Article XI and are very broad, covering 14
separate duties and powers. The commission is responsible for administration of the
compact including ensuring that adequate stream and reservoir gaging stations are
maintained and that data from these stations are collected and analyzed to determine
compact accounting and compliance.
The annual report published by the commission contains useful information on storage
constructed in each state from July 1, 1963 to the end of the current year, June 30. It also
contains any new conservation storage constructed in the current compact year, which is
from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. The annual report also contains a table of
Apportionment of New Conservation Storage Capacity based on the compact allocation
and increased allocations of storage in Kansas based on storage constructed in Oklahoma
and a reduction for storage constructed in Kansas.
The annual report also contains data and graphs on long term stream flow at gages near
the Stateline. The flows are significant and indicate considerable flow into Oklahoma from
Kansas. The long-term averages for the reported gages are shown in Table 3-1 (Thirty-
Ninth Annual Report, Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Commission, Fiscal
2006).
Table 3-1 Long-Term Average Streamflow from Kansas to Oklahoma
USGS Gage Name Long-Term Average Flow (AFY)1
Neosho River near Commerce, Oklahoma 2,743,000 AFY
Verdigris River at Independence, Kansas 1,582,000 AFY
Caney River at Ramona, Oklahoma 1,096,000 AFY
Arkansas River at Arkansas City, Kansas 1,404,000 AFY
Chikaskia River near Blackwell, Oklahoma 435,100 AFY
Salt Fork Arkansas River at Tonkawa, Oklahoma 681,500 AFY
Cimarron River near Waynoka, Oklahoma 212,600 AFY
Total 8,154,200 AFY
Notes:
1 The period of record of flow measurements varies between 22 years and 89 years based on
gage.
3.3.5 Water Availability
The above flows merit additional analysis from a compact and feasibility basis. The
remaining allocation of storage that could be developed in Kansas as set forth in the
2006 annual report is shown to be 2,627,935 AF, which could reduce the availability of
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-8
water to Oklahoma if the storage is constructed but the likelihood of this should be
discussed with commission officials.
Clearly, some additional water storage could be constructed in Oklahoma based on the
large inflows from Kansas. However, there has been considerable pre-compact storage
constructed on the Grand-Neosho River basins so the feasibility of additional storage in
this basin may be questionable in Oklahoma. Likewise, on the Verdigris River, Oklahoma
has constructed over 978,000 AF of storage at Oologah Lake so additional storage may
not be feasible. The flows of the Caney River below the Osage County could be used for
potential water storage without creating compact obligations.
The water quality of the waters on the Cimarron and Salt Fork Rivers is not sufficient for
municipal use without treatment to remove the salts and to reduce to the TDS (Phone
interview with Dean Couch, February 5, 2009).
3.4 Arkansas River Basin Compact, Arkansas-Oklahoma
(1972)
3.4.1 Purposes
The compact was originally approved on March 16, 1970 and was revised on March 3,
1972 in Tulsa, Oklahoma by the representatives of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the U.S. The
major purposes of the compact are to promote interstate comity, to provide for the
equitable apportionment of the waters of the Arkansas River between the two states and
promote the orderly development thereof, to provide for an agency for administering the
water apportionment agreed to herein, to encourage the maintenance of an active
pollution abatement program in each state, and to facilitate the cooperation of the water
administration agencies of each state in the total development and management of the
water resources of the Arkansas River Basin (Article I).
3.4.2 Geographical Area of Influence
The compact defines the Arkansas River basin as the drainage basin of the Arkansas River
and its tributaries from a point immediately below the confluence of the Grand-Neosho
River with the Arkansas River near Muskogee, Oklahoma to a point immediately below the
confluence of Lee Creek with the Arkansas River near Van Buren, Arkansas, together with
the drainage basin of Spavinaw Creek in Arkansas but excluding the portion of the
Spavinaw Creek drainage basin in Oklahoma and excluding that portion of the Arkansas
River drainage basin of the Canadian River below Eufaula Dam. The compact establishes
five sub-basins for which depletion of annual yield is apportioned and these are: Spavinaw
Creek sub-basin in Arkansas, Illinois River sub-basin in Arkansas, Lee Creek sub-basin in
Arkansas and Oklahoma, Poteau River sub-basin in Arkansas, and the Arkansas River sub-basin,
which includes all areas of the Arkansas River basin except the four other sub-basins
described. The inflows from the Arkansas River above Muskogee, Oklahoma and
the Canadian River above Lake Eufaula are not considered a part of the Arkansas River
sub-basin yield that is apportioned by the compact.
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-9
3.4.3 Apportionment of Water
This compact apportions "annual yield," which means the computed annual gross runoff
from any specified sub-basin that would have passed any certain point on a stream and
would have originated within any specified area under natural conditions, without any
man-made depletion or accretion during any water year (October 1 to September 30 of the
following calendar year). The allocation of annual yield is as follows:
 The State of Arkansas shall have the right to develop and use the waters of the
Spavinaw Creek (only in Arkansas) sub-basin subject to the limitation that the annual
yield shall not be depleted by more than 50 percent.
 The State of Arkansas shall have the right to develop and use the waters of the Illinois
River (only in Arkansas) sub-basin subject to the limitation that the annual yield shall
not be depleted by more than 60 percent.
 The State of Arkansas shall have the right to develop and use all waters originating
within the Lee Creek sub-basin in the State of Arkansas, or the equivalent thereof, and
the State of Oklahoma has the right to develop and use all waters originating in the Lee
Creek sub-basin in Oklahoma, provided that neither state has the power of eminent
domain in the other state, for instance, to build a reservoir in the other state to store
water from this stream that meanders across the state line.
 The State of Arkansas shall have the right to develop and use the waters of the Poteau
River sub-basin (only in Arkansas) subject to the limitation that the annual yield shall
not be depleted by more than 60 percent.
 The State of Oklahoma shall have the right to develop and use the waters of the
Arkansas River sub-basin subject to the limitation that the annual yield shall not be
depleted by more than 60 percent.
3.4.4 Compact Operation and Accounting
The Arkansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Commission is established in Article VIII
as the interstate agency responsible for the administration of the compact. The
commission consists of three members from each state plus one commissioner
representing the United States. One commissioner from Oklahoma must be the Director of
the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and one commissioner from Arkansas must be the
Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. The federal commissioner is the
chairman of the commission but does not have a vote.
Each state has one vote representing the majority vote of the commissioners of that state.
In case of a tie vote on any of the commission's actions, a majority of the commissioners
for either state may submit a written request to the chairman to submit the question to
arbitration using three arbitrators selected under the compact's procedures. Arbitration is
not compulsory on tie votes.
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-10
Under Article V of the compact, on or before December 31 of each year, the commission
shall determine state line yields of the Arkansas River Basin for the previous water year.
Any depletion in excess of that allowed by the compact shall, subject to the control of the
commission, be delivered to the downstream state. The methods for determining the
annual yield of each of the sub-basins shall be those developed and approved by the
commission.
The powers of the commission are set forth in Article IX and are very broad covering
19 separate duties and powers. The commission is responsible for administration of the
compact including ensuring that adequate stream and reservoir gaging stations are
maintained and that data from these stations are collected and analyzed to determine
compact accounting and compliance.
The annual report published by the commission is very comprehensive and contains much
useful information and data. It includes a section titled "Annual Yield and Selected
Hydrologic Data for the Arkansas River Basin Compact, Arkansas-Oklahoma for the Water
Year" and is prepared by Hydrologic Information Services of Little Rock, Arkansas. It
includes computation of annual yields and deficiency for each of the five sub-basins in cfs.
It also computes depletions from major reservoirs in the basin, which is significant, on the
order of 180,000 AF in water year 2005 (Arkansas River Commission 2006 Report). It also
contains daily flow data from 20 gaging stations in the basin prepared by the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) as well as considerable water quality data. The runoff from the
five sub-basins in the 2005 water year was computed as 2,655,200 AF, which is a
significant amount of water. The computed annual depletion in the 2005 water year
including reservoir evaporation was 244,400 AF. There is a downstream obligation on how
much stream water can be consumed by Oklahoma (Oklahoma can use 60 percent of
flows originating in the Arkansas River sub-basin).
3.4.5 Water Availability
The apparent significant unused flows in the basin may merit additional analysis if there
are projected future water demand needs in Oklahoma. Although no known deficiencies by
use in Arkansas have been computed as part of the compact accounting, some daily flows
have been sufficiently low that there were reported shortages in Oklahoma (Dean Couch,
February 5, 2009). Oklahoma water officials notified Arkansas water officials of concerns
related to the shortages, and it was suggested that the 60 to 40 percent split of flows on
an annual basis as set forth in the compact be applied on a daily basis. This would require
Arkansas to regulate water diversions and use to cause the flow to increase into
Oklahoma. This discussion has not resulted in any agreement to operate in this manner in
the future.
The water flowing from Lake Eufaula in the Canadian River is water not originating within
the Arkansas River basin and is not subject to the Arkansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River
Compact, but is subject to the Canadian River Compact, giving Oklahoma free and
unrestricted use of that water. It would appear that Oklahoma could develop the
significant flow available in most years by a diversion from the Canadian River below
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-11
Eufaula Dam. This would require an analysis of the yield for M&I uses at this location
under historical flow conditions. To this end, a pipeline to pump water to Oklahoma City
and surrounding areas has been discussed by private developers.
3.5 Red River Compact, Arkansas-Louisiana-Oklahoma-
Texas (1978)
3.5.1 Purposes
The Red River Compact was signed on May 12, 1978 after several years of negotiations.
The major purposes of the compact are to promote interstate comity and remove causes
of controversy over the use, control, and distribution of the interstate water of the Red
River, to provide an equitable apportionment of the water of the Red River and its
tributaries, to promote an active program for the control and alleviation of natural
deterioration and pollution of the water of the Red River, to provide for an active program
for the conservation of water, protection of lives and property from floods, improvement of
water quality, development of navigation and regulation of flows in the Red River basin,
and to provide a basis for state and joint state planning and action by ascertaining and
identifying each state's share in the interstate water of the Red River basin (Article I).
3.5.2 Geographical Area of Influence
The compact operates from the point where the Red River crosses the New Mexico-Texas
Stateline to the confluence of the Red River above the junction with the Atchafalaya and
Old Rivers near the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The Red River comprises a significant
portion of Oklahoma's border with Texas. The compact divides the Red River Basin into
five major reaches:
 Reach I – the Red River and tributaries from the New Mexico-Texas state boundary to
Denison Dam.
 Reach II – the Red River from Denison Dam to the point where it crosses the Arkansas-
Louisiana state boundary and all tributaries which contribute to the flow of the river
within this reach.
 Reach III – the tributaries west of the Red River which cross the Texas-Louisiana state
boundary, the Arkansas-Louisiana state boundary, and those which cross both the
Texas-Arkansas state boundary and the Arkansas-Louisiana state boundary.
 Reach IV – the tributaries east of the Red river in Arkansas which cross the Arkansas-
Louisiana state boundary.
 Reach V – that portion of the Red River and tributaries in Louisiana not included in
Reach III or in Reach IV.
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-12
3.5.3 Apportionment of Water
The compact allocates annual flow and storage for each of the five reaches above.
Oklahoma is affected by the allocations in Reach I and II. The annual flow is not defined in
the compact but subsequent rules of the compact commission define annual flow as the
measured flow plus upstream manmade depletions. The compact also defines designated
water as water released from storage, paid for by non-federal interests, for delivery to a
specific point of use or diversion. Undesignated water is all water released from storage
that is other than designated water.
Apportionment of Water – Reach I (Article IV)
Reach I is divided into four sub-basins and the water therein allocated as follows:
Sub-basin 1- Interstate Streams - Texas
 Buck Creek, Sand (Lebos) Creek, Salt Fork Red River, Elm Creek, North Fork Red River,
Sweetwater Creek, and Washita River, together with all their tributaries in Texas that lie
west of the 100th Meridian
 60 percent of annual flow to Texas, 40 percent to Oklahoma
Sub-basin 2 – Intrastate and Interstate Streams-Oklahoma
 All Red River tributaries in Oklahoma from Denison Dam (Lake Texoma Dam) upstream
northwestward to Oklahoma-Texas state boundary, including the Washita River basin in
Oklahoma and Buck Creek
 100 percent free and unrestricted use for Oklahoma
Sub-basin 3 – Intrastate Streams - Texas
 All Red River tributaries in Texas from Denison Dam (Lake Texoma Dam) to Oklahoma-
Texas boundary, including Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River in Texas
 100 percent free and unrestricted use for Texas
Sub-basin 4 – Main stem of the Red River and Lake Texoma
�� Mainstem of Red River and all of Lake Texoma from Denison Dam upstream to
Oklahoma-Texas state boundary (Unrestricted use by Oklahoma)
 The storage of Lake Texoma and flow from the main stem of the Red River is
apportioned 200,000 AF to each state
 Additional quantities allocated 50 percent to Oklahoma and 50 percent to Texas
Apportionment of Water – Reach II (Article V)
Reach II is subdivided into five sub-basins and the water therein is allocated as follows:
Sub-basin 1 – Intrastate Streams – Oklahoma
On these intrastate streams and tributaries, Oklahoma has 100 percent free and
unrestricted use. The available flow is determined by the runoff in a stream upstream of
an existing or proposed reservoir site. The streams are:
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-13
 Island-Bayou at Albany
 Blue River at Durant
 Boggy River at Boswell
 Kiamichi River at Hugo
A review of these basins shows that in some cases reservoirs have not been built. The
delineation of sub-basins will still occur at these locations at the latitude and longitude
specified in the compact.
Sub-basins 2 and 4
Sub-basins 2 and 4 of Reach II do not include waters of Oklahoma.
Sub-basin 3 –Interstate Streams Oklahoma and Arkansas
This sub-basin includes the Little River and its tributaries above Millwood Dam. The states
of Oklahoma and Arkansas shall have free and unrestricted use of the water in this sub-basin
within their respective states, subject, however, to the limitation that Oklahoma shall
allow a quantity of water equal to 40 percent of the total runoff originating below existing
or authorized last downstream major damsites in Oklahoma to flow into Arkansas at the
following locations:
 Little River at Pine Creek
 Glover Creek at Lukfata
 Mountain Fork River at Broken Bow
Sub-basin 5 – Mainstem of the Red River and tributaries
This sub-basin includes that portion of the Red River and its tributaries from Denison Dam
(Lake Texoma outfall) to the Arkansas-Louisiana state boundary and involves all signatory
states. Each state's water allocation is controlled by the flow at the Arkansas-Louisiana
state boundary.
 If flow is greater than 3,000 cfs, then each state shall have equal rights to runoff
originating in the sub-basin and undesignated water flowing into the sub-basin, and as
long as the flow is above 3,000 cfs, no state is entitled to more than 25 percent of the
water in excess of 3000 cfs.
 If flow is less than 3,000 cfs but more than 1,000 cfs, then Oklahoma, Arkansas, and
Texas must deliver 40 percent of the total weekly runoff originating in sub-basin 5 and
40 percent of the undesignated water flowing into the sub-basin 5 to Louisiana.
However, the states do not need to release stored water to achieve this goal.
 If flow is less than 1,000 cfs, then Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas must allow all
weekly runoff originating in sub-basin 5 and all undesignated water flowing into sub-basin
5 as required to flow into Louisiana to maintain 1,000 cfs.
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-14
 When the flow is less than 526 cfs at Index, Arkansas, the states of Oklahoma and
Texas must allow a quantity of water equal to 40 percent of the total weekly runoff
originating in sub-basin 5 within their respective states to flow into the Red River,
provided, however, this provision shall be invoked only at the request of Arkansas. This
will only apply if Arkansas has ceased all diversions from the Red River itself above
Index and only if the previous restrictions have not caused a limitation on diversions in
this subbasin.
 Reservoirs less than 1,000 AF that are in existence or authorized at the time of the
compact are exempt from the previous provisions.
3.5.4 Compact Operation and Accounting
The Red River Compact Commission is established in Article IX as the interstate
administrative agency for the compact. The commission is composed of two
representatives from each of the signatory states and one commissioner representing the
United States. The federal commissioner shall be the Chairman of the commission but
shall not have a right to vote. Each of the two commissioners from each state shall have
one vote. Any action concerned with the administration of the compact shall require six
concurring votes. If a proposed action affects existing water rights in a state, and that
action is not expressly provided for in the compact, eight concurring votes shall be
required.
The commission has 16 broad powers and duties set out in Article X of the compact. The
commission may make a finding that a signatory state is or is not in violation of any
provisions of the compact, and may make such investigations and studies to support any
findings. The commission publishes an annual report and submits it to the Governor of
each signatory state and to the President of the United States.
The commission has not to date had to do any accounting under the compact since no
state has deemed it necessary (Article II). The commission has promulgated rules for the
Internal Organization of the commission and has promulgated rules to compute and
enforce compact compliance in Reach I, Sub-basin 1 (April 30, 1987) and for Reach III,
Sub-basin 3 (amended April 25, 1989). The commission has also promulgated interim
rules to compute and enforce compact compliance in Reach II, Sub-basin 5 (April 30,
1987). All of these rules are in the annual report.
The annual report contains considerable information on stream flow in the basin including
long-term average flows and daily flows for the compact water year provided by the USGS.
The flows in the basin are significant. The flow of the Red River at Denison, Texas
averages 3,448,700 AFY over the 53 years of record as shown in the 2006 annual report.
The Red River at Index, Arkansas is shown to average 9,322,800 AFY over the 62 year
period of record in the 2006 report.
Water quality monitoring stations are identified but the data is not published in the annual
report. According to both Herman Settemeyer and Dean Couch, the water quality of the
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-15
waters of the mainstem upstream of Denison Dam is high in chlorides and TDS so that
additional development of the waters of the mainstem for municipal uses are not very
likely unless reverse osmosis membrane treatment systems become economically
feasible in the future. There are existing and proposed federal Chloride Control Projects on
the Red River above Denison Dam that have and could reduce the chloride content of the
water.
3.5.5 Water Availability
The Red River basin and its tributaries appear to have significant flows that may merit
additional analyses for feasibility for future water projects provided the poor water quality
issues on the mainstem can be overcome. The tributaries in Reach II that flow into the
Red River from Oklahoma have good quality water and water from the Kiamichi River is
being evaluated by Oklahoma City as a source for future water needs. The Kiamichi River
basin is mountainous, has little development, and produces runoff of significant yield and
quality.
A Texas entity has also filed applications for water rights on Kiamichi River below Lake
Hugo and this application is under federal litigation. The Texas entity has also filed
applications for water rights in Reach I above Lake Texoma in Oklahoma on Cache Creek
and Beaver Creek near the confluence with the Red River where water quality is better
than the quality of the mainstem water (Dean Couch phone interview, February 5, 2009).
There are downstream delivery obligations as set forth for Reach II, sub-basin 5 that must
be considered in any possible development of Red River main stem flows in Oklahoma.
3.6 Conclusions
Development of additional water supplies to meet current and future demand does not
appear to be constrained by the four interstate river compacts in Oklahoma. Additional
development in Western Oklahoma is constrained by the limited physical water supply in
the Canadian River and North Canadian River due to the low precipitation, extended
drought, and potential impacts of Ogallala aquifer pumping. Likewise, the potential for
additional development in Southwestern Oklahoma on the Red River appears to be more
limited by the water quality and by some degree to the physical supply and not by the Red
River Compact.
In Central and Eastern Oklahoma, where the precipitation is greater causing more runoff
and where considerable water flows into the state from Kansas and Arkansas, the
compacts on the Arkansas and Red River do not impose any apparent limitations on
developing additional water supply projects to meet current or future water demand. The
constraint to development of additional water supply projects would appear to be more
related to the water quality of the rivers, especially related to salts and TDS and the cost of
removing these from the water supply by membrane treatment.
A 4-1
Section 4
References
Arkansas River Compact Commission 2006 Report
Arkansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission Report 2005
Canadian Compact Commission, Agency Strategic Plan for the 2005 – 2009 Period
Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission, Thirty-Ninth Annual Report Fiscal 2006
Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission, Thirty-Eighth Annual Report Fiscal 2005
Report of the Canadian River Commission 2000, Internal Printing.
Report of the Canadian River Commission March 1, 2004, Internal Printing.
Report of the Red River Compact Commission 2006
Report of the Red River Compact Commission 2005
Red River Compact Commission, Agency Strategic Plan for the 2005 – 2009 Period

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Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan
2012 Update
Water Supply Permit Availability Report
Revised October 2011
Prepared by CDM under a cooperative agreement between the
United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board
A i
Contents
Section 1 - Water Supply Permit Availability Analyses
Section 2 - Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
2.1 Water Use Permitting in Oklahoma ......................................................... 2-1
2.2 Groundwater Permitting Availability ........................................................ 2-2
2.2.1 Methodology .............................................................................. 2-2
2.2.2 Results ....................................................................................... 2-5
2.3 Surface Water Permitting Availability .................................................... 2-10
2.3.1 Methodology ............................................................................ 2-10
2.3.2 Difference in USACE Reservoir Contracts and Permitting .... 2-12
2.3.3 Protecting Yield above Federal Reservoirs ............................ 2-12
2.3.4 Results ..................................................................................... 2-12
Section 3 - Interstate River Compacts
3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 3-1
3.2 Canadian River Compact (1950) ............................................................ 3-2
3.2.1 Purposes .................................................................................... 3-2
3.2.2 Geographical Area of Influence ................................................ 3-3
3.2.3 Apportionment of Water ........................................................... 3-3
3.2.4 Compact Operation and Accounting ........................................ 3-4
3.2.5 Water Availability ....................................................................... 3-4
3.3 Arkansas River Basin Compact, Kansas-Oklahoma (1965) .................. 3-5
3.3.1 Purposes .................................................................................... 3-5
3.3.2 Geographical Area of Influence ................................................ 3-5
3.3.3 Apportionment of Water ........................................................... 3-5
3.3.4 Compact Operation and Accounting ........................................ 3-7
3.3.5 Water Availability ....................................................................... 3-7
3.4 Arkansas River Basin Compact, Arkansas-Oklahoma (1972) ............... 3-8
3.4.1 Purposes .................................................................................... 3-8
3.4.2 Geographical Area of Influence ................................................ 3-8
3.4.3 Apportionment of Water ........................................................... 3-9
3.4.4 Compact Operation and Accounting ........................................ 3-9
3.4.5 Water Availability ..................................................................... 3-10
3.5 Red River Compact, Arkansas-Louisiana-Oklahoma-Texas (1978) .... 3-11
3.5.1 Purposes .................................................................................. 3-11
3.5.2 Geographical Area of Influence .............................................. 3-11
3.5.3 Apportionment of Water ......................................................... 3-12
3.5.4 Compact Operation and Accounting ...................................... 3-14
3.5.5 Water Availability ..................................................................... 3-15
3.6 Conclusions ............................................................................................ 3-15
Section 4 - References
A ii
Figures
2-1 Aquifer Equal Proportionate Share ......................................................... 2-4
2-2 Estimated Available Groundwater in 2060 for New Permits ................ 2-9
2-3 Estimated Surface Water Permit Availability Gaps in 2010 ................ 2-16
2-4 Estimated Available Surface Water in 2060 for New Permits ............ 2-17
3-1 Oklahoma's Interstate River Compacts .................................................. 3-2
Tables
2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060 ........................................... 2-5
2-2 Projected Permit Availability of Surface Water in 2060 ...................... 2-13
2-3 Source of Permitted Withdrawals for Projected 2060 Surface
Water Permit Availability Gaps .............................................................. 2-18
3-1 Long-Term Average Streamflow from Kansas to Oklahoma .................. 3-7
A iii
Acronyms
AF acre-feet
AFY acre-feet per year
cfs cubic feet per second
EPS equal proportionate share
GIS geographic information system
GRDA Grand River Dam Authority
GW groundwater
M&I municipal and industrial
OCWP Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan
OWRB Oklahoma Water Resources Board
SW surface water
TDS total dissolved solids
USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
USGS U.S. Geological Survey
A 1-1
Section 1
Water Supply Permit Availability Analyses
The Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan (OCWP) is being updated to assess and plan for
the water needs of all water uses and users in Oklahoma through 2060. A reliable water
supply is contingent on all of the following aspects:
 Physical water supply availability or "wet water"
 The right to divert water from surface water (SW) or groundwater (GW) sources
 Infrastructure to divert, treat, and convey the water to its intended use
 Adequate water quality for the intended use
A reliable source of supply must not only have the water physically present for diversion
and use, the user must have the rights and the infrastructure to deliver the water, and the
water must be of adequate quality. Absent any one of these elements, the supply is not
reliable.
For example, the right to divert water has no value if the water is not physically present
due to hydrologic or other conditions. Conversely, having water physically available for
diversion does not by itself satisfy a user's need if the water is obligated to other users.
Each of these elements is being examined at both a statewide and a basin level of
analysis as part of the development of the OCWP. This report focuses on the permit
availability of water in Oklahoma. The other supply aspects are being investigated and
documented separately.
Specifically, the permit availability analyses consisted of the following aspects:
 Identification of the maximum amounts of SW and GW that could be permitted using
Oklahoma's existing statutory requirements and water rights permitting protocol
 Documentation of interstate river compact agreements and obligations
The maximum amount of SW and GW available for permitting may change if statutory or
rule changes occur in the future.
The maximum amount of water that could be permitted was compared to demand
forecasts for 2060, for each of the 82 OCWP basins, to check for constraints of the
current permitting system on meeting future demands. Interstate river compacts were also
summarized as part of this effort, and Oklahoma's anticipated SW development was
compared to interstate river compact obligations to check whether interstate river
compact requirements are likely to constrain the use of supplies to meet anticipated
demand for SW in Oklahoma. These analyses are described in the following sections.
A 2-1
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current
and Future Permitting
This section summarizes the results of analyses of the permit availability of water supplies
in Oklahoma relative to water permits, sometimes referred to as "water rights." A water
right can be a permit, prior right (groundwater), or vested right (surface water). As noted in
Section 1, the permit availability was evaluated in parallel with the physical water supply,
water quality, and infrastructure constraints. Physical water availability, water quality, and
infrastructure constraints are analyzed and discussed in separate OCWP documents.
2.1 Water Use Permitting in Oklahoma
Oklahoma water law considers SW and GW separately. Stream water, the term used for
SW permits, is "water in a definite stream and includes but is not limited to water in ponds,
lakes, reservoirs, and playa lakes" (Oklahoma Administrative Code 785:20-1-2.
Definitions). SW is a public resource that is subject to appropriation by the Oklahoma
Water Resources Board (OWRB) for all SW basins except the Grand River in northeast
Oklahoma, where the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) has authority for water allocation.
GRDA was created by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1935. As defined by the enabling
legislation, the waters of the Grand River serve citizens and industrial customers for both
their general electrical and public consumption purposes. Waters of the Grand River were
fully appropriated to the authority with the initial enabling legislation. This act of
appropriation resulted in the eventual formation of water contracting agreements between
GRDA and its water users. The administration of water use contracts is solely the
responsibility of the GRDA and does not fall under the purview of the OWRB. Permitting in
the Grand River basin is therefore not analyzed in this report.
Oklahoma SW laws are based on riparian and prior appropriation doctrines. OWRB issues
a permit, also referred to as a water right, to divert water from a stream for beneficial use.
Domestic use of GW or SW by individuals for household purposes, lawns, orchards, and
cattle watering up to the normal grazing capacity, plus use of up to 5 acre-feet per year
(AFY) for agriculture by natural individuals, firefighting, and use by non-individuals for
drinking water, restrooms, and lawn watering does not require a permit. New SW permits
may not interfere with existing permitted withdrawals, domestic users, and reservoir
yields. If the beneficial use of the diversion is not maintained, the law specifies that
permitted withdrawal amounts are forfeited.
GW is considered a property right in Oklahoma. GW is defined as "fresh water [less than
5,000 parts per million total dissolved solids (TDS)] under the surface of the earth
regardless of the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving outside the cut bank
of any definite stream." The amount of GW that may be withdrawn is based on the number
of acres of land overlying the groundwater basin. OWRB permits the withdrawal of GW
providing that the following are satisfied:
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-2
 The party requesting the permit owns or leases the land (or has right to the water under
the land)
 The land lies atop a groundwater basin or sub-basin
 The use will be beneficial
 No unauthorized use of wells or GW (waste by depletion)
 No pollution to the basin or aquifer (waste by pollution) (82 O.S., §1020.9)
In addition to the merits of the GW permit, the potential for interference with existing wells
may be examined. Well pumping can be curtailed to less than the permitted amount if
interference with existing wells occurs. New wells in aquifers where an equal proportionate
share (EPS) has been established are required to be located at least a 1/4 mile away from
the next nearest existing well to avoid such interference, unless otherwise proven in a
hearing before the OWRB.
Two major types of GW permits are issued by the OWRB—regular and temporary. Regular
GW permits are issued for aquifers that have been studied and an EPS defined. An EPS is
the portion of maximum annual yield of GW in a given GW basin allocated to each acre of
overlying land. The GW basins with an EPS, which currently vary from 0.5 to 2.1 AFY per
acre, are shown in Figure 2-1. In all areas with no defined EPS, a temporary permit of
2.0 AFY per acre may be issued. If the land overlies more than one aquifer, separate
permits are issued for each aquifer that is used in studied basins. Pumping of GW for
domestic uses is exempt from the OWRB GW permitting process, but domestic users are
not allowed to waste GW.
Tribal issues are being investigated separately and are not included in this evaluation. The
results of the tribal investigations could affect this analysis and should be considered
upon their completion, and/or as part of OCWP implementation activities. Additionally, the
riparian rights doctrine, which is not evaluated in this report, could affect the findings of
these analyses. Results could also vary as additional aquifers are studied and temporary
permits are converted to regular permits.
2.2 Groundwater Permitting Availability
2.2.1 Methodology
The permit availability of GW was determined for each of the 82 OCWP basins, including
areas with and without studied GW basins. The OCWP basins were defined based on
surface watersheds. Therefore, Oklahoma's GW aquifers typically span multiple OCWP
basins.
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-3
Figure 2-1 - Aquifer Equal Proportionate Share
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-4
To calculate the maximum permit GW availability (quantity that could be permitted), a
hypothetical regular or temporary permit was assigned to the entire state. Areas with
regular permits were determined from the OWRB major and minor aquifer geographic
information system (GIS) data files as shown in Figure 2-1. EPS GW withdrawals were
calculated by multiplying the area of the GW basin in each OCWP basin by the EPS.
Temporary permit withdrawals were calculated by multiplying the remaining area of each
OCWP basin (i.e., the area not covered by a GW basin with a defined EPS) by 2 AFY per
acre. The total permit availability was determined by summing the temporary and EPS
withdrawal volumes. The total permit availability therefore effectively includes amounts
that could be authorized by the two major types of permits. The current permit availability
was estimated by subtracting the existing active GW rights from the total permit
availability. The estimated current GW permits were developed using the 2007 records,
which were available at the time of the analysis, and the OCWP demand projections. The
portion of demand met by SW was calculated using the current (2010) SW and GW supply
proportions. Since forfeiture of existing groundwater permits is rare, all existing active
rights were used to conservatively represent the current portion of each basin that is not
available for permits.
To address overlying aquifers (shown in Figure 2-1), the following simplifying assumptions
were made:
 In areas with overlapping aquifers, the GW permit availability was based on the aquifer
with an EPS.
 If more than one aquifer with an EPS was present, then the larger EPS was used.
 Only one GW permit was assigned for a given acre. OWRB protocol allows more than
one permit to be assigned per acre, but this is a rare occurrence. Therefore, to be
conservative, it was assumed that only one permit authorizing use of GW underlying
each acre could be issued.
The quantity of GW that would need to be permitted by 2060 was estimated for each
OCWP basin by summing the existing active GW rights and the increase in projected GW
demand from 2010 to 2060. Demand increases were calculated using the future (2060)
SW and GW supply proportions in each OCWP basin.
A GW permit availability was estimated for the current (2010) and long-term (2060). The
permit availability gap was calculated by subtracting the projected 2060 estimated GW
permits from the total quantity that could be permitted in each OCWP basin. Since some
existing rights are not currently 100 percent utilized, the projected 2060 GW permits used
in this analysis may be greater than the projected future GW demand and thus provides a
conservative forecast.
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-5
2.2.2 Results
The GW permit availability analyses identified no GW permitting gaps in the state in the
near-term or long-term (2060) timeframe. As shown in Table 2-1, the projected increase in
GW demands from 2010 to 2060 (assuming the continued use of the current supply
proportions of SW and GW sources), is less in each OCWP basin than the amount of GW
available for new permits in 2010 under current law and permitting protocol. The
estimated amount of groundwater that will be available for new permits in 2060 in each
basin is shown graphically in Figure 2-2. As the remaining aquifers are studied and
assigned an EPS, the available water for permits may increase or decrease relative to the
temporary permit value of 2.0 AFY per acre. As a reminder, the available GW for permits
does not consider the physical ability to extract GW (i.e., "wet water") in a given basin and
does not distinguish between alluvial and bedrock GW. Physical supply availability is
evaluated and documented separately from this analysis.
Table 2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Maximum
Potential GW
Permits
(AFY)1
Total
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2010
(AFY)2
Projected
Increase
in GW
Use 2010-
2060
(AFY)
Remaining
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2060
(AFY)
1 10100 Red River
Mainstem (To
Kiamichi River)
544,100 543,800 100 543,700
2 10201 Little River
(McCurtain
County) - 1
417,600 417,600 100 417,500
3 10202 Little River
(McCurtain
County) - 2
1,615,300 1,615,100 100 1,615,000
4 10203 Little River
(McCurtain
County) - 3
708,300 708,400 100 708,300
5 10301 Kiamichi River -
1
506,100 502,300 100 502,200
6 10302 Kiamichi River -
2
1,853,000 1,852,600 100 1,852,500
7 10411 Muddy Boggy
River - 1
466,600 463,100 100 463,000
8 10412 Muddy Boggy
River - 2
1,394,700 1,390,300 400 1,389,900
9 10420 Clear Boggy
Creek
1,310,400 1,304,900 100 1,304,800
10 10500 Red River
Mainstem (To
Blue River)
293,600 290,100 100 290,000
11 10601 Blue River - 1 295,300 293,500 100 293,400
12 10602 Blue River - 2 613,900 546,600 200 546,400
13 10700 Red River
Mainstem (To
Washita)
439,900 432,400 100 432,300
14 10810 Lower Washita 2,283,500 2,250,800 500 2,250,300
15 10821 Middle Washita
- 1
579,400 566,500 200 566,300
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-6
Table 2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Maximum
Potential GW
Permits
(AFY)1
Total
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2010
(AFY)2
Projected
Increase
in GW
Use 2010-
2060
(AFY)
Remaining
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2060
(AFY)
16 10822 Middle Washita
- 2
1,366,800 1,325,900 400 1,325,500
17 10831 Upper Washita -
1
288,400 259,100 300 258,800
18 10832 Upper Washita -
2
393,800 263,000 500 262,500
19 10833 Upper Washita -
3
1,999,300 1,887,700 300 1,887,400
20 10840 Washita
Headwaters
1,342,700 1,230,800 400 1,230,400
21 10900 Red River
Mainstem (To
Walnut Bayou)
2,228,400 2,182,700 500 2,182,200
22 11000 Walnut Bayou 435,600 417,300 400 416,900
23 11100 Mud Creek 831,200 821,400 100 821,300
24 11201 Beaver Creek -
1
136,100 134,500 100 134,400
25 11202 Beaver Creek -
2
642,400 624,100 200 623,900
26 11203 Beaver Creek -
3
248,800 247,200 100 247,100
27 11311 Cache Creek - 1 97,500 97,200 100 97,100
28 11312 Cache Creek - 2 771,900 762,500 200 762,300
29 11321 Deep Red River
And West
Cache Creek - 1
515,700 510,000 200 509,800
30 11322 Deep Red River
And West
Cache Creek - 2
593,700 592,700 100 592,600
31 11400 Red River
Mainstem (To
North Fork of
Red)
552,700 536,200 100 536,100
32 11511 Lower North
Fork Red River -
1
132,600 109,600 100 109,500
33 11512 Lower North
Fork Red River -
2
371,800 352,400 100 352,300
34 11513 Lower North
Fork Red River -
3
851,200 838,200 200 838,000
35 11514 Lower North
Fork Red River -
4
153,900 153,300 100 153,200
36 11521 Upper North
Fork Red River -
1
167,900 148,400 200 148,200
37 11522 Upper North
Fork Red River -
2
649,100 582,700 200 582,500
38 11601 Salt Fork Red
River - 1
674,800 635,400 300 635,100
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-7
Table 2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Maximum
Potential GW
Permits
(AFY)1
Total
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2010
(AFY)2
Projected
Increase
in GW
Use 2010-
2060
(AFY)
Remaining
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2060
(AFY)
39 11602 Salt Fork Red
River - 2
222,200 217,600 100 217,500
40 11701 Prairie Dog
Town Fork Red
River - 1
361,400 352,300 200 352,100
41 11702 Prairie Dog
Town Fork Red
River - 2
309,600 242,300 300 242,000
42 11801 Elm Fork Red
River - 1
126,100 118,300 300 118,000
43 11802 Elm Fork Red
River - 2
568,700 567,800 100 567,700
44 20101 Poteau River - 1 125,600 125,600 100 125,500
45 20102 Poteau River - 2 1,600,700 1,598,400 100 1,598,300
46 20201 Lower Arkansas
River - 1
1,833,500 1,818,400 300 1,818,100
47 20202 Lower Arkansas
River - 1
1,253,100 1,242,000 200 1,241,800
48 20300 Canadian River
(To North
Canadian River)
4,054,500 4,042,700 500 4,042,200
49 20400 Middle Arkansas
River
1,692,600 1,676,900 300 1,676,600
50 20510 Lower North
Canadian River
1,239,400 1,143,500 1,000 1,142,500
51 20520 Middle North
Canadian River
708,400 633,600 600 633,000
52 20531 Upper North
Canadian River
- 1
860,700 805,900 100 805,800
53 20532 Upper North
Canadian River
- 2
1,686,000 1,477,800 700 1,477,100
54 20533 Upper North
Canadian River
- 3
581,600 498,900 700 498,200
55 20540 North Canadian
Headwaters
4,642,600 3,698,900 2,500 3,696,400
56 20611 Lower Canadian
River - 1
1,132,500 1,089,800 400 1,089,400
57 20612 Lower Canadian
River - 2
259,700 255,900 100 255,800
58 20620 Middle
Canadian River
876,000 810,500 500 810,000
59 20630 Upper Canadian
River
2,484,900 2,324,300 600 2,323,700
60 20700 Deep Fork River 2,572,100 2,527,700 600 2,527,100
61 20801 Little River - 1 368,200 365,900 100 365,800
62 20802 Little River - 2 768,900 728,600 400 728,200
63 20910 Lower Cimarron
River
1,332,200 1,322,900 300 1,322,600
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-8
Table 2-1 Permit Availability of Groundwater in 2060
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Maximum
Potential GW
Permits
(AFY)1
Total
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2010
(AFY)2
Projected
Increase
in GW
Use 2010-
2060
(AFY)
Remaining
Available
Water for
New Permits
in 2060
(AFY)
64 20920 Middle Cimarron
River
4,586,200 4,390,800 1,300 4,389,500
65 20930 Upper Cimarron
River
2,506,400 2,380,700 600 2,380,100
66 20940 Cimarron
Headwaters
893,700 850,800 400 850,400
67 21011 Lower Salt Fork
of the Arkansas
River - 2
299,400 292,300 100 292,200
68 21012 Lower Salt Fork
of the Arkansas
River - 2
2,857,500 2,815,900 100 2,815,800
69 21013 Lower Salt Fork
of the Arkansas
River - 3
190,500 188,300 100 188,200
70 21020 Upper Salt Fork
of the Arkansas
River
286,100 281,500 300 281,200
71 21100 Arkansas River -
Cimarron Rivers
to Keystone
Lake
2,596,600 2,575,800 300 2,575,500
72 21200 Arkansas River
Mainstem (To
Kansas State
Line)
1,908,000 1,868,600 300 1,868,300
73 21301 Bird Creek - 1 229,900 229,900 100 229,800
74 21302 Bird Creek - 2 1,226,000 1,224,900 100 1,224,800
75 21401 Caney River - 1 206,200 206,300 100 206,200
76 21402 Caney River - 2 1,300,200 1,300,200 100 1,300,100
77 21511 Verdigris River
(To Oologah
Dam) - 1
502,600 502,600 100 502,500
78 21512 Verdigris River
(To Oologah
Dam) - 2
411,500 411,600 100 411,500
79 21520 Verdigris River
(To Kansas
State Line)
1,052,500 1,052,500 100 1,052,400
80 21601 Grand (Nesho)
River - 1
2,638,300 2,628,100 400 2,627,700
81 21602 Grand (Nesho)
River - 2
1,155,900 1,137,100 400 1,136,700
82 21700 Illinois River 1,147,800 1,143,700 100 1,143,600
1 Maximum potential permits includes overall total permit capacity based on EPS and temporary permits
before considering any existing permits. A portion of the maximum potential permits is already allocated
to existing permits.
2 Available water for new permits is the maximum potential permits minus 2010 GW permits in the basin
(2010 permits were estimated as 2007 actual permits plus estimated increase in GW use from 2007 to
2010).
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-9
Figure 2-2 – Estimated Available Groundwater in 2060 for New Permits
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-10
2.3 Surface Water Permitting Availability
2.3.1 Methodology
The SW permitting availability was determined for each of the 82 OCWP basins. Future SW
withdrawals may not impact existing SW rights as they would be junior to existing water
rights. Therefore, the obligations both upstream and downstream were considered. Those
obligations include existing active rights, potential future permits defined by the demand
projections, domestic water use, interstate river compact obligations, and reservoir
dependable yields.
The quantity of SW that would need to be permitted by 2060 was estimated for each
OCWP basin using the following methodologies that follow OWRB SW permitting protocol:
 Existing active rights were allocated to each basin by the location of the SW withdrawal,
which was available from the OWRB water rights database.
 The estimated SW permits that will be needed in 2060 were determined by summing
the existing active SW rights (annual quantity) and the increase in total SW permit need
from 2010 to 2060, which was calculated based on existing schedules of use and SW
demand projections. Since some existing permits are not currently 100 percent utilized,
the estimated 2060 SW permit need that was estimated for this analysis may be
greater than the projected total future demands and thus provides a conservative
forecast.
 The estimated current SW permits were developed using 2007 records, which were
available at the time of the analysis, and the OCWP demand projections. The portion of
demand met by SW was calculated using the current (2010) SW and GW supply
proportions.
 Existing active SW rights were used to represent the current SW that is unavailable for
new permits. The unavailable water includes the amount of permitted water listed in
schedules of use for the given analysis year. OWRB undertakes systematic reviews of
permits to assure beneficial use of the water, and portions of permits that are not used
for beneficial use or covered in a schedule of use may be forfeited.
 The increase in total SW permit need was calculated in two parts: projected increases
in non-municipal and industrial (M&I) demands, such as Crop Irrigation, and projected
increases in M&I demands or existing schedules of use. Future SW permits from non-
M&I demands were calculated as the increase in non-M&I demand from 2010 to 2060
using the future (2060) SW and GW supply proportions. Future SW permits from M&I
demands were calculated as the larger of (1) the increase in active permitted diversions
due to schedules of use from 2010 to 2060, or (2) the increase in M&I demand from
2010 to 2060 using the future (2060) SW and GW supply proportions for each basin.
 Oil and Gas users currently use 90-day temporary permits for well drilling and
development activities. Oil and gas activities were assigned a general permit for
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-11
consistency in the analysis, where the general permit amount is equal to the sum of the
90 day permits for the year.
 Upstream and downstream permits were included as permit obligations for each basin.
OWRB applies case by case analyses when permitting on the mainstem of a river, which
includes the OCWP basin's outlet. To systematically account for mainstem permitting on
a statewide basis, all upstream basins were taken into account. The immediate
downstream basin was included in the basin's permit obligation. Permit availability gaps
due to downstream basin's estimated future permits were flagged as a mainstem
restriction.
 Domestic uses were calculated as 6 AFY per quarter section (160 acres) of the total
basin area. Non-consumptive uses were not incorporated in the analysis, consistent
with current law and permitting practice.
 Consistent with OWRB methodology and assumptions to recognize typical compact
apportionment provisions, upstream states are typically recognized to be able to use
60 percent of the measured historical stream flow at the Oklahoma border; however,
actual compact provisions are reviewed on an ad hoc basis for potential availability
issues. The presumed reduction in flow is then accounted for in all downstream basins
within Oklahoma.
 Arkansas was allocated (for purposes of this report) 40 percent of runoff generated in
OCWP basins 44, 45, 46, 47, and 82 based on the Arkansas River Basin Compact
between Arkansas and Oklahoma. Runoff is defined for purposes of this report only as
the measured stream flow. This is a conservative assumption because return flows
from uses in the basin will result in higher measured flows.
 Downstream states on the Red River were allocated (for purposes of this report only)
40 percent of runoff generated in basins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.
Runoff was defined as the measured stream flow. Note, the above methodology is a
simplification of the compact apportionment provisions. The Red River Compact has a
different definition of runoff, and "undesignated flow" is separately defined in the Red
River Compact for the apportionment provisions.
 Reservoir dependable yields from the OWRB water rights database were used. The
yields reflect all reservoir conservation pool allocations (irrigation, water quality, water
storage, etc.). Reservoir dependable yields and associated permits were not double
counted.
 NRCS reservoirs without dependable yields were included based on their normal
storage volume. NRCS reservoirs and associated permits were not double counted.
Permits were associated with NRCS reservoirs based on being within a half mile of the
reservoir dam location.
 Upstream estimated future permits were accounted for in all downstream basins.
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-12
 Permit availability was not analyzed for GRDA's area of responsibility (Basins 80 and
81).
For each basin, the estimated 2060 SW permit need was subtracted from average annual
measured historical stream flow (adjusted based on the presumed compact constraints)
to determine the SW permit availability gap. Average annual stream flow (using data from
1951 through 1980 per OWRB protocol at the time of this analysis) was determined from
the monthly SW supplies calculated separately in the physical supply availability analysis.
Average annual stream flows were used in this analysis, following OWRB permitting
protocol.
2.3.2 Differences in USACE Reservoir Contracts and Permitting
Differences in accounting between state and federal agencies can require additional
consideration when obtaining permits for water from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE) reservoirs. OWRB permitting allows for permits with schedule of use to be applied
to reservoirs, including federal reservoirs. The USACE issues storage contracts based on
the amount of water currently used by an entity. A State of Oklahoma permit is required by
the USACE before a contract will be issued. Therefore, it is possible for the USACE to have
available storage to contract and the reservoir yield to be fully permitted, since some
portion of the permit may be based on a schedule of use. When investigating a possibility
of obtaining water from a USACE reservoir, it is best to first confirm the permit availability
with OWRB.
These accounting issues do not arise with Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs and the
associated master conservancy or irrigation districts.
2.3.3 Protecting Yield above Federal Reservoirs
The yield of all conservation pools (water supply, thermo-electric power, navigation, etc.) of
federal reservoirs must be protected from future development. Many federal reservoirs
provide multiple years of water supply; therefore, withdrawals above these reservoirs may
be curtailed even when there is ample flowing water in the stream.
2.3.4 Results
The results of the SW permit availability analyses are presented in Table 2-2. The
estimated gaps in SW permits in 2010 are presented in Figure 2-2. The estimated
available streamflow for new permits in 2060 is presented in Figure 2-3. This represents
the SW that could be permitted in a given basin after satisfying existing permits and
schedules of use, and after satisfying the amount of new permits that would be needed to
accommodate the basin's projected growth in SW use from 2010 through 2060. New
permits to accommodate the projected growth in SW use were assumed to be needed only
to the degree that existing permits and schedules of use cannot accommodate the
projected 2060 SW use.
The results show that there is sufficient available SW permit capacity in the majority of the
OCWP basins in 2060. That is, projected SW demands in 2060 (assuming continued use of
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-13
the current supply proportions of SW and GW sources) could be fully permitted using current
law and permitting protocol. Shortages in available water permits (insufficient permitted
water availability for projected 2060 demands) are projected in 22 of the 82 OCWP basins
across the state. The shortages begin in the first year of the analysis (2010) in 19 of these
22 basins. Shortages in Basin 32 (Lower North Fork of the Red River - 1) start in 2060 and
shortages in Basin 33 (Lower North Fork of the Red River - 2) start in 2020. A summary of
the permit obligations on each basin with a gap is presented for the 2060 results in
Table 2-3. As stated in the methodology, basins with permit availability gaps that are smaller
than the estimated SW permits in the immediate downstream basin were flagged as
mainstem restrictions. The SW permit availability gaps tend to occur in the western half of
the state.
Table 2-2 Projected Permit Availability of Surface Water in 2010 and 2060
OCWP
Basin #
Basin
ID Basin Name
Average
Annual
Stream Flow
1951 - 1980
(AFY)
Estimated
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)2
Estimated
Gaps in
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)3
Remaining
Water for
Permits (or Gaps
in Available
Water for
Permits) in 2060
(AFY)3
Potential
Restrictions to
Permitting on
Mainstem of
Creek or River
10100 1 Red River Mainstem (To
Kiamichi River)
368,800 207,100 0 205,300 No
10201 2 Little River (McCurtain
County) - 1
2,439,900 1,939,200 0 1,929,300 No
10202 3 Little River (McCurtain
County) - 2
1,150,000 958,000 0 952,400 No
10203 4 Little River (McCurtain
County) - 3
896,500 488,600 0 483,700 No
10301 5 Kiamichi River - 1 1,528,000 1,285,600 0 1,258,600 No
10302 6 Kiamichi River - 2 1,205,300 894,800 0 867,900 No
10411 7 Muddy Boggy River - 1 1,170,900 925,000 0 897,500 No
10412 8 Muddy Boggy River - 2 584,600 388,800 0 364,000 No
10420 9 Clear Boggy Creek 435,400 319,300 0 316,400 No
10500 10 Red River Mainstem (To Blue
River)
87,800 43,900 0 43,600 No
10601 11 Blue River - 1 275,800 200,300 0 196,200 No
10602 12 Blue River - 2 191,800 144,700 0 140,600 No
10700 13 Red River Mainstem (To
Washita)
131,500 79,900 0 78,600 No
10810 14 Lower Washita 830,300 303,800 0 260,500 No
10821 15 Middle Washita - 1 426,100 62,900 0 27,200 No
10822 16 Middle Washita - 2 321,100 22,700 0 Gap (-700) No
10831 17 Upper Washita - 1 217,000 0 -14,900 Gap (-36,500) Yes
10832 18 Upper Washita - 2 16,400 0 -21,100 Gap (-28,400) No
10833 19 Upper Washita - 3 183,300 0 -13,100 Gap (-27,000) Yes
10840 20 Washita Headwaters 89,300 0 -87,900 Gap (-99,000) Yes
10900 21 Red River Mainstem (To
Walnut Bayou)
1,509,400 909,900 0 866,700 No
11000 22 Walnut Bayou 22,700 5,500 0 4,500 No
11100 23 Mud Creek 99,500 82,400 0 82,200 No
11201 24 Beaver Creek - 1 122,400 78,800 0 49,800 No
11202 25 Beaver Creek - 2 71,000 33,100 0 4,500 No
11203 26 Beaver Creek - 3 33,200 16,100 0 6,800 No
11311 27 Cache Creek - 1 262,000 171,300 0 156,500 No
11312 28 Cache Creek - 2 101,300 43,900 0 30,600 No
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-14
Table 2-2 Projected Permit Availability of Surface Water in 2010 and 2060
OCWP
Basin #
Basin
ID Basin Name
Average
Annual
Stream Flow
1951 - 1980
(AFY)
Estimated
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)2
Estimated
Gaps in
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)3
Remaining
Water for
Permits (or Gaps
in Available
Water for
Permits) in 2060
(AFY)3
Potential
Restrictions to
Permitting on
Mainstem of
Creek or River
11321 29 Deep Red River And West
Cache Creek - 1
145,200 107,700 0 106,000 No
11322 30 Deep Red River And West
Cache Creek - 2
79,600 35,100 0 33,500 No
11400 31 Red River Mainstem (To
North Fork of Red)
69,100 55,100 0 55,000 No
11511 32 Lower North Fork Red River -
1
254,700 7,400 0 Gap (-2,600) No
11512 33 Lower North Fork Red River -
2
248,700 600 0 Gap (-9,300) Yes
11513 34 Lower North Fork Red River -
3
200,000 0 -40,400 Gap (-48,100) No
11514 35 Lower North Fork Red River -
4
13,000 0 -16,100 Gap (-19,600) Yes
11521 36 Upper North Fork Red River -
1
49,300 0 -133,300 Gap (-139,100) No
11522 37 Upper North Fork Red River -
2
85,300 0 -67,400 Gap (-67,600) Yes
11601 38 Salt Fork Red River - 1 113,600 15,000 0 8,800 No
11602 39 Salt Fork Red River - 2 61,800 0 -33,700 Gap (-39,900) Yes
11701 40 Prairie Dog Town Fork Red
River - 1
11,400 0 -6,700 Gap (-6,900) No
11702 41 Prairie Dog Town Fork Red
River - 2
12,800 0 -5,300 Gap (-5,500) Yes
11801 42 Elm Fork Red River - 1 77,300 12,900 0 6,700 No
11802 43 Elm Fork Red River - 2 67,700 35,100 0 34,600 No
20101 44 Poteau River - 1 1,411,100 987,900 0 962,400 No
20102 45 Poteau River - 2 1,340,400 995,800 0 979,400 No
20201 46 Lower Arkansas River - 1 21,496,800 11,211,200 0 10,606,700 No
20202 47 Lower Arkansas River - 2 18,750,200 9,466,300 0 8,878,300 No
20300 48 Canadian River (To North
Canadian River)
3,264,500 2,019,300 0 1,802,400 No
20400 49 Middle Arkansas River 5,515,700 3,179,600 0 2,952,400 No
20510 50 Lower North Canadian River 409,400 0 -174,900 Gap (-243,000) Yes
20520 51 Middle North Canadian River 112,400 0 -292,400 Gap (-317,300) No
20531 52 Upper North Canadian River -
1
111,600 0 -242,000 Gap (-247,100) No
20532 53 Upper North Canadian River -
2
118,400 0 -115,500 Gap (-118,600) No
20533 54 Upper North Canadian River -
3
38,900 0 -35,300 Gap (-38,100) Yes
20540 55 North Canadian Headwaters 64,500 0 -108,800 Gap (-109,200) No
20611 56 Lower Canadian River - 1 874,800 376,500 0 301,300 No
20612 57 Lower Canadian River - 2 39,100 32,400 0 31,500 No
20620 58 Middle Canadian River 475,200 202,400 0 178,300 No
20630 59 Upper Canadian River 242,600 39,700 0 30,500 No
20700 60 Deep Fork River 483,900 188,200 0 126,700 No
20801 61 Little River - 1 197,500 77,300 0 55,400 No
20802 62 Little River - 2 97,700 51,400 0 44,500 No
20910 63 Lower Cimarron River 833,300 473,500 0 455,100 No
20920 64 Middle Cimarron River 624,900 342,500 0 331,200 No
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-15
Table 2-2 Projected Permit Availability of Surface Water in 2010 and 2060
OCWP
Basin #
Basin
ID Basin Name
Average
Annual
Stream Flow
1951 - 1980
(AFY)
Estimated
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)2
Estimated
Gaps in
Available
Water for
Permits in
2010 (AFY)3
Remaining
Water for
Permits (or Gaps
in Available
Water for
Permits) in 2060
(AFY)3
Potential
Restrictions to
Permitting on
Mainstem of
Creek or River
20930 65 Upper Cimarron River 110,300 0 -129,600 Gap (-137,000) No
20940 66 Cimarron Headwaters 16,300 0 -71,100 Gap (-72,600) No
21011 67 Lower Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River - 1
918,400 337,300 0 249,000 No
21012 68 Lower Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River - 2
490,400 275,000 0 274,500 No
21013 69 Lower Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River - 3
383,600 168,400 0 165,500 No
21020 70 Upper Salt Fork of the
Arkansas River
355,600 148,800 0 146,200 No
21100 71 Arkansas River - Cimarron
Rivers to Keystone Lake
5,171,900 3,041,200 0 2,912,600 No
21200 72 Arkansas River Mainstem (To
Kansas State Line)
3,636,800 1,938,600 0 1,846,200 No
21301 73 Bird Creek - 1 404,100 195,600 0 90,000 No
21302 74 Bird Creek - 2 340,600 224,500 0 208,500 No
21401 75 Caney River - 1 761,700 391,700 0 261,100 No
21402 76 Caney River - 2 704,800 433,500 0 392,400 No
21511 77 Verdigris River (To Oologah
Dam) - 1
3,186,800 1,508,600 0 1,234,600 No
21512 78 Verdigris River (To Oologah
Dam) - 2
3,034,700 1,573,600 0 1,398,200 No
21520 79 Verdigris River (To Kansas
State Line)
1,827,100 721,200 0 623,200 No
21601 80 Grand (Neosho) River - 1 5,688,900 Under GRDA Authority
21602 81 Grand (Neosho) River - 2 4,703,300 Under GRDA Authority
21700 82 Illinois River 968,500 317,500 0 170,200 No
1 Values may include both runoff and undesignated flow for basins under the Red River Compact. Additionally, in basin number
53, Upper North Canadian River – 2, it is not clear how the Palo Duro Reservoir and dispute under the Canadian River Compact
may affect the streamflow available for new permits.
2 A portion of the Estimated Available Water for Permits in 2010 will be used to satisfy schedules of use for years beyond 2010.
The amount of water available for new permits is the amount shown minus the difference between the ultimate maximum AFY
indicated in the schedule of use and the 2010 AFY value shown in the schedule of use.
3 Gaps in Permit Availability in 2010 and 2060 include existing SW rights, schedules of use for the subject year, and the projected
increase in SW demands. The increase in SW demand was calculated using the existing SW/GW supply proportions for each
basin.
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-16
Figure 2-3 - Estimated Surface Water Permit Availability Gaps in 2010
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-17
Figure 2-4 - Estimated Available Surface Water in 2060 for New Permits
Section 2
Analysis of Water Available for Current and Future Permitting
A 2-18
Table 2-3 Source of Permitted Withdrawals for Projected 2060 Surface Water Permit Availability Gaps
OCWP
Basin # Basin ID Basin Name
Average
Annual
Stream
Flow (AFY)
Projected Permitted Demands in
2060 (AFY)
Reservoir
Dependable
Yield (AFY)
Reservoir
Dependable
Yield That is Not
Currently
Permitted
(AFY) 1
NRCS Reservoir
Storage (AF)2
Upstream
Compact
Obligations
(AFY)
Downstream
Compact
Obligations
(AFY)
Total Projected
Permitted
Demands in 2060
(AFY)
Annual Permit
Availability Gaps
in 2060 (AFY)3
Potential
Restrictions to
Permitting on
Mainstem of
Creek or River
2060 Permits
and Domestic
Use for Current
and Upstream
Basins (AFY)
2060 Permits
and Domestic
Use for
Downstream
Basin (AFY)
16 10822 Middle Washita - 2 321,100 244,700 23,000 0 0 46,900 7,100 0 321,700 ‐700 Yes
17 10831 Upper Washita - 1 217,000 188,500 53,500 0 0 1,700 7,100 0 250,800 -33,800 Yes
18 10832 Upper Washita - 2 16,400 26,600 15,000 18,000 0 2,300 0 0 43,900 -27,500 No
19 10833 Upper Washita - 3 183,300 146,800 15,000 0 0 39,300 7,100 0 208,200 -25,000 No
20 10840 Washita Headwaters 89,300 32,400 114,400 18,000 400 32,900 7,100 0 187,200 -97,900 Yes
32 11511 Lower North Fork Red
River - 1
254,700 199,400 0 0 0 0 56,600 0 256,000 -1,300 No
33 11512 Lower North Fork Red
River - 2
248,700 195,700 3,700 0 0 700 56,600 0 256,700 -8,100 No
34 11513 Lower North Fork Red
River - 3
200,000 164,200 20,400 0 0 5,600 56,600 0 246,800 -46,800 No
35 11514 Lower North Fork Red
River - 4
13,000 11,100 20,400 16,000 0 600 0 0 32,100 -19,100 Yes
36 11521 Upper North Fork Red
River - 1
49,300 112,800 36,200 47,100 0 0 38,100 0 187,100 -137,800 No
37 11522 Upper North Fork Red
River - 2
85,300 17,700 95,100 0 0 1,900 38,100 0 152,800 -67,500 Yes
39 11602 Salt Fork Red River - 2 61,800 4,400 64,400 0 0 0 32,700 0 101,500 -39,700 Yes
40 11701 Prairie Dog Town Fork
Red River - 1
11,400 16,400 0 0 0 0 1,800 0 18,200 -6,800 No
41 11702 Prairie Dog Town Fork
Red River - 2
12,800 8,200 8,200 0 0 0 1,800 0 18,200 -5,400 Yes
50 20510 Lower North Canadian
River
409,400 368,300 219,200 4,400 0 9,300 59,800 0 656,600 -247,200 No
51 20520 Middle North Canadian
River
112,400 280,100 88,100 5,000 0 700 59,800 0 428,700 -316,300 No
52 20531 Upper North Canadian
River - 1
111,600 177,400 102,700 18,500 0 0 59,800 0 339,900 -246,700 No
53 20532 Upper North Canadian
River - 2
118,400 154,900 22,500 0 0 0 59,800 0 237,200 -118,800 No
54 20533 Upper North Canadian
River - 3
38,900 22,700 39,300 200 0 0 15,300 0 77,300 -38,300 Yes
55 20540 North Canadian
Headwaters
64,500 92,900 39,300 0 0 0 41,900 0 174,100 -109,500 No
65 20930 Upper Cimarron River 110,300 81,600 112,300 0 0 0 49,400 0 243,300 -133,000 No
66 20940 Cimarron Headwaters 16,300 21,600 60,000 0 0 0 6,900 0 88,500 -72,300 No
1 Reservoir Dependable Yield was included in the calculation as permits and the portion of the yield that was not permitted.
2 NRCS Reservoir Storage were included in the calculation as permits and the portion of the normal storage that was not permitted.
3 Minor differences may occur when comparing the input data and the Annual Permit Availability Gaps in 2060 due to rounding.
A 3-1
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
3.1 Introduction
The purpose of this section is to review the four interstate river compacts that Oklahoma
has entered into, to discuss their purposes and apportionments of water between the
signatory states, and water availability under current and future conditions. The interstate
river compacts Oklahoma has entered into were evaluated to assess the potential for
projected water needs and water development in Oklahoma through the 50-year OCWP
planning period relative to compact conditions.
To provide background on the subject, this section first describes what an interstate river
compact is and discusses the benefits and obligations of an interstate river compact as
well as the consequences of not complying with the compact.
An interstate river compact is a formal written agreement between two or more states to
divide or share the waters of a river that flows in each of the states. The compact must be
approved by the legislatures of each state and approved by the U.S. Congress so that it
becomes an enforceable statute in each state as well as federal law.
The benefits of entering into a compact vary between them but the overriding benefit is to
reduce future disagreements and possible litigation between states over the waters of an
interstate river. It also provides certainty to each state on what it can do under the
compact to develop and use the waters of the compacted river including future
development as the increase in demand may dictate.
An interstate river compact also has obligations on each state as to how water may be
diverted and stored for use in the state while allowing remaining flows to pass
downstream to other signatory states that may also have diversion or storage provisions
imposed by the compact. Often, annual accounting by a compact commission is required
to determine the amount of water used under the compact and if each state complied with
the compact.
An interstate river compact, if not complied with, can result in litigation between the
signatory states before the U. S. Supreme Court. These lawsuits begin in the U.S. Supreme
Court, which has original jurisdiction over disputes between states. When Oklahoma and
Texas brought suit against New Mexico under the Canadian River Compact, it was
assigned No. 109, Original as the case number. In the Oklahoma and Texas vs. New
Mexico (No. 109 Original) litigation, the lawsuit was settled in a stipulated judgment and
New Mexico was required to release about 170,000 acre-feet (AF) from storage spread
over 9 years and pay attorney costs of $200,000 to each state. Thus, it can be seen that
compliance with the provisions of interstate river compacts is an important obligation for
each signatory state.
Oklahoma has entered into four interstate river compacts, including two compacts on the
Arkansas River; one with Kansas and one with Arkansas. It also is a signatory state with
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-2
New Mexico and Texas on the Canadian River Compact, and has entered into a compact
with Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana on the Red River. The figure below depicts the river
basins associated with these compacts.
Figure 3-1 Oklahoma's Interstate River Compacts
The remainder of this section discusses each of the four compacts in more detail and
presents the apportionment to each state, the operation and accounting under the
compact commission, the commission duties, meeting and reports, and water supply
conditions, both current and possible additional uses that may be possible under the
compact to meet future demand.
3.2 Canadian River Compact (1950)
3.2.1 Purposes
The Canadian River Compact was signed on December 6, 1950 in Santa Fe, New Mexico
by the representatives of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and the United States. In addition
to removing causes for present and future controversies, the compact intent was to make
secure and protect present developments within the states and to provide for the
construction of additional works for the conservation of the waters of the Canadian River
(Article I).
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-3
3.2.2 Geographical Area of Influence
The Canadian River Compact covers the entire area of the Canadian River basin from its
headwaters in New Mexico to its confluence with the Arkansas River in Oklahoma on the
Canadian River. The compact uses the term "Canadian River" to represent the Canadian
River and its tributaries with the exception of the "North Canadian River," which is used to
designate waters from that tributary independently of the Canadian River.
3.2.3 Apportionment of Water
The compact provides free and unrestricted use to all waters in the respective states, as
described above, with limitations on the total amount of conservation storage in each
state. Conservation storage excludes any reservoir capacity allocated solely for flood
control, power production, or sediment control (Article II).
New Mexico has free and unrestricted use of all waters originating above Conchas Dam
(Article IV), which was developed in 1938 before the compact (1950). Free and
unrestricted uses of waters originating below Conchas Dam are also provided to New
Mexico with two caveats:
 New Mexico's conservation storage on the Canadian River is limited to an aggregate of
200,000 AF annually even though maximum storage content may exceed this amount.
 New Mexico conservation storage on the North Canadian River is "limited to the storage
of such water as at the time may be unappropriated under the laws of New Mexico and
of Oklahoma." (Article IV)
Texas has free and unrestricted use of all Canadian River waters in Texas (Article V),
subject to the following limitations upon storage of water:
 Texas can impound water in tributaries of the North Canadian River for municipal,
household and domestic uses, livestock watering, and irrigation, which are used to
provide food or feed to householders and domestic livestock kept on the property.
 Texas can impound 500,000 AF of conservation storage in the Canadian River basin,
until Oklahoma achieves 300,000 AF of conservation storage in the Canadian River
basin. Once Oklahoma achieves 300,000 AF of storage, Texas is entitled to store no
more than 200,000 AF of conservation storage plus "whatever amount of water shall be
at the same time in conservation storage in reservoirs in the drainage basin of the
Canadian River in Oklahoma." All storage calculations exclude:
 Reservoirs on the North Canadian River in Texas
 Waters of the North Canadian River in Oklahoma
 Reservoirs east of the 97th meridian on the Canadian River [in Oklahoma]
Oklahoma is entitled to all Canadian River water originating in Oklahoma (Article VI).
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-4
3.2.4 Compact Operation and Accounting
The Canadian River Commission consists of one representative of each state and one
from the federal government who is the chair of the commission and is a non-voting
member. The commission requires a unanimous vote of the three states to approve any
action. The commission meets annually and submits a report to the President of the
United States and the Governors of each state (Article IX).
The commission's annual report includes an inventory of reservoirs with maximum
capacity in the Canadian River basin, in each state, as well as maximum conservation
storage for the compact year. New Mexico has constructed 10 reservoirs with a maximum
capacity of 235,655 AF (March 1, 2004 Annual Report, Canadian River Compact
Commission) below Conchas Reservoir.
Texas has constructed reservoirs with a maximum storage capacity of 828,049 AF in the
Canadian River basin. The main reservoir for Texas is Lake Meredith with a maximum
capacity of 817,970 AF. It is the primary water supply for 11 cities in Texas according to
Herman Settemeyer, Engineer Advisor for Texas, Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality, in a phone interview on February 2, 2009. Lake Meredith is extremely low in
conservation storage due to drought over the last 10 years and water is being pumped
from the dead pool. On the North Canadian River, Texas has constructed reservoirs with a
storage capacity of 62,563 AF with the major reservoir being Palo Duro with a capacity of
60,900 AF and maximum conservation storage in 2003 of 4,759 AF.
East of the 97th Meridian, Oklahoma has constructed 38 reservoirs (over 100 AF in
capacity) with a maximum storage capacity of 2,612,831 AF. The largest reservoir is Lake
Eufaula, with a capacity of 2,330,000 AF (March 1, 2004 Annual Report). Oklahoma has
constructed 11,875 AF of storage west of the 97th Meridian. On the North Canadian River,
Oklahoma has constructed 94 reservoirs (over 100 AF in capacity) that have a total of
428,766 AF of capacity. Currently, the conservation storage is much less than this due to
drought conditions and Lake Optima is dry, which is the largest reservoir on the North
Canadian River in Oklahoma with a capacity of 129,000 AF. According to Dean Couch,
OWRB, in a phone interview on February 5, 2009, the USACE has determined that the
yield of Optima Reservoir is 0 AF due to drought and the presumed impact of Ogallala
aquifer pumping.
3.2.5 Water Availability
It appears that the water supply available to Oklahoma from the North Canadian River has
been fully appropriated below Canton Lake and the flows of the Canadian River west of
the 97th Meridian are such that additional development is not contemplated (Dean
Couch, February 5, 2009). The Canadian River east of the 97th Meridian has more reliable
flows due to increased precipitation and the flows below Lake Eufaula average over
6,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) for the last 41 years, which is 4,745,000 AFY. However,
during the 2006 drought, the flow averaged 357 cfs or 260,610 AF for the year. Lake
Eufaula is used for many purposes. The storage pool has been designated for use to
generate hydropower electricity. A change in use to allow additional municipal use from
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-5
the hydropower pool would require USACE approval. The cost per acre-foot to purchase
this water could discourage such a change. Lake Eufaula has 56,000 AF allocated to
water supply, not solely for municipal use, and 50,000 AF is under contract through the
USACE. It would appear that the ability to develop additional water supplies in the
Canadian River basin above Lake Eufaula is constrained by the physical supply and by the
water rights issued and contracted from Lake Eufaula. The Canadian River Compact does
not appear to impact water use east of the 97th Meridian.
It may be possible to divert water from the Canadian River below Lake Eufaula after the
water has passed through the hydroelectric facilities. Water quality does not appear to be
a significant issue (Personal Communication, Dean Couch).
3.3 Arkansas River Basin Compact, Kansas-Oklahoma
(1965)
3.3.1 Purposes
The major purposes of the Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact, as it is referred to
by the states, are to promote interstate comity (civility), to divide and apportion equitably
between the two states the waters of the Arkansas River basin and to promote the orderly
development thereof, to provide for an agency for administering the water apportionment
agreed to, and to encourage the maintenance of an active pollution-abatement program in
each of the states.
3.3.2 Geographical Area of Influence
The compact defines the Arkansas River basin as the Arkansas River from a point
immediately below the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers near
Wichita, Kansas to a point immediately below the confluence of the Arkansas River with
the Grand-Neosho River near Muskogee, Oklahoma and the tributaries that empty into this
reach of the Arkansas River (Article I).
3.3.3 Apportionment of Water
Like the Canadian River compact, the compact provides free and unrestricted use of water
in each state, while limiting the amount of conservation storage that Kansas can develop.
The water of the Arkansas River and its tributaries means the water originating in the
Arkansas River basin as defined above. The compact divides the watershed into five sub-basins
where limits to conservation storage have been agreed to. Conservation storage
capacity is defined as storage in excess of 100 AF for subsequent use, but not for "flood
control, sediment control, and inactive storage capacity allocated to other uses." New
conservation storage capacity is defined as conservation storage capacity for which
construction is initiated after July 1, 1963 and storage capacity not presently allocated for
conservation storage that is converted to conservation storage capacity after July 1, 1963
in excess of the quantities of declared conservation storage capacity as set forth in the
storage table attached to the minutes of the Twenty-fourth meeting of the Compact
Committee dated September 1, 1964 (Article II).
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-6
The apportionment of waters for storage in Kansas is as set forth below (Article V):
 Grand-Neosho River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 650,000 AF of storage plus an additional capacity equal to the
new conservation storage in Oklahoma.
 Spavinaw Creek is excluded from reciprocal storage volume in Oklahoma under
Article V(B) of the compact.
 Verdigris River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 300,000 AF of storage plus an additional capacity equal to the
new conservation storage in Oklahoma.
 The navigation capacity allocated in the Oologah Reservoir is excluded from the
compact.
 Salt Fork River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 300,000 AF of storage plus an additional capacity equal to the
new conservation storage in Oklahoma.
 Cimarron River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 5,000 AF of conservation storage.
 New conservation storage in excess of 5,000 AF requires approval of the
commission.
 Mainstem of the Arkansas River Sub-basin
 Kansas can develop 600,000 AF of storage plus an additional capacity equal to the
new conservation storage in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma shall have free and unrestricted use of the waters of the Arkansas River basin
in Oklahoma except that new conservation storage in the Cimarron River sub-basin shall
not exceed 5,000 AF, provided that new conservation storage capacity in excess of this
amount must be approved by the commission (Article VI).
The compact assigns exclusive use of any waters imported into the Arkansas River basin,
where any storage used for the imported water is excluded from new conservation
storage. Waters exported from the Arkansas River basin will be counted as new
conservation storage. The amount of new conservation storage will be equal to the actual
storage capacity used for the diversion or 5 AF of conservation storage for each average
annual acre-foot of water diverted with no storage (Article VIII).
Article IX discusses the pollution abatement responsibilities of the states to reduce
pollution within each state and to investigate and abate sources of alleged interstate
pollution. It further states that providing water for purpose of water quality control as a
substitute for adequate waste treatment is not acceptable.
Section 3
Interstate River Compacts
A 3-7
3.3.4 Compact Operation and Accounting
Article X creates the Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission, which consists of
three commissioners from each state with one representative being the water official
responsible for administering water law in that state. The chairman of the commission is a
federal appointee who is a non-voting member of the commission. Each state shall have
one vote based on the majority opinion of that state's commissioners and a unanimous
vote is required for approval of any commission action.
The powers of the commission are set forth in Article XI and are very broad, covering 14
separate duties and powers. The commission is responsible for administration of the
compact including ensuring that adequate stream and reservoir gaging stations are
maintained and that data from these stations are collected and analyzed to determine
compact accounting and compliance.
The annual report published by the commission contains useful information on storage
constructed in each state from July 1, 1963 to the end of the current year, June 30. It also
contains any new conservation storage constructed in the current compact year, which is
from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. The annual report also contains a table of
Apportionment of New Conservation Storage Capacity based on the compact allocation
and increased allocations of storage in Kansas based on storage constructed in Oklahoma
and a reduction for storage constructed in Kansas.
The annual report also contains data and graphs on long term stream flow at gages near
the Stateline. The flows are significant and indicate considerable flow into Oklahoma from
Kansas. The long-term averages for the reported gages are shown in Table 3-1 (Thirty-
Ninth Annual Report, Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Commission, Fiscal
2006).
Table 3-1 Long-Term Average Streamflow from Kansas to Oklahoma
USGS Gage Name Long-Term Average Flow (AFY)1
Neosho River near Commerce, Oklahoma 2,743,000 AFY
Verdigris River at Independence, Kansas 1,582,000 AFY
Caney River at Ramona, Oklahoma 1,096,000 AFY
Arkansas River at Arkansas City, Kansas 1,404,000 AFY
Chikaskia River near Blackwell, Oklahoma 435,100 AFY
Salt Fork Arkansas River at Tonkawa, Oklahoma 681,500 AFY
Cimarron River near Waynoka, Oklahoma 212,600 AFY
Total 8,154,200 AFY
Notes:
1 The period of record of flow measurements varies between 22 years and 89 years based on
gage.
3.3.5 Water Availability
The above flows merit additional analysis from a compact and feasibility basis. The
remaining allocation of storage that could be developed in Kansas as set forth in the
2006 annual report is shown to be 2,627,935 AF, which could reduce the availability of
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water to Oklahoma if the storage is constructed but the likelihood of this should be
discussed with commission officials.
Clearly, some additional water storage could be constructed in Oklahoma based on the
large inflows from Kansas. However, there has been considerable pre-compact storage
constructed on the Grand-Neosho River basins so the feasibility of additional storage in
this basin may be questionable in Oklahoma. Likewise, on the Verdigris River, Oklahoma
has constructed over 978,000 AF of storage at Oologah Lake so additional storage may
not be feasible. The flows of the Caney River below the Osage County could be used for
potential water storage without creating compact obligations.
The water quality of the waters on the Cimarron and Salt Fork Rivers is not sufficient for
municipal use without treatment to remove the salts and to reduce to the TDS (Phone
interview with Dean Couch, February 5, 2009).
3.4 Arkansas River Basin Compact, Arkansas-Oklahoma
(1972)
3.4.1 Purposes
The compact was originally approved on March 16, 1970 and was revised on March 3,
1972 in Tulsa, Oklahoma by the representatives of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the U.S. The
major purposes of the compact are to promote interstate comity, to provide for the
equitable apportionment of the waters of the Arkansas River between the two states and
promote the orderly development thereof, to provide for an agency for administering the
water apportionment agreed to herein, to encourage the maintenance of an active
pollution abatement program in each state, and to facilitate the cooperation of the water
administration agencies of each state in the total development and management of the
water resources of the Arkansas River Basin (Article I).
3.4.2 Geographical Area of Influence
The compact defines the Arkansas River basin as the drainage basin of the Arkansas River
and its tributaries from a point immediately below the confluence of the Grand-Neosho
River with the Arkansas River near Muskogee, Oklahoma to a point immediately below the
confluence of Lee Creek with the Arkansas River near Van Buren, Arkansas, together with
the drainage basin of Spavinaw Creek in Arkansas but excluding the portion of the
Spavinaw Creek drainage basin in Oklahoma and excluding that portion of the Arkansas
River drainage basin of the Canadian River below Eufaula Dam. The compact establishes
five sub-basins for which depletion of annual yield is apportioned and these are: Spavinaw
Creek sub-basin in Arkansas, Illinois River sub-basin in Arkansas, Lee Creek sub-basin in
Arkansas and Oklahoma, Poteau River sub-basin in Arkansas, and the Arkansas River sub-basin,
which includes all areas of the Arkansas River basin except the four other sub-basins
described. The inflows from the Arkansas River above Muskogee, Oklahoma and
the Canadian River above Lake Eufaula are not considered a part of the Arkansas River
sub-basin yield that is apportioned by the compact.
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3.4.3 Apportionment of Water
This compact apportions "annual yield," which means the computed annual gross runoff
from any specified sub-basin that would have passed any certain point on a stream and
would have originated within any specified area under natural conditions, without any
man-made depletion or accretion during any water year (October 1 to September 30 of the
following calendar year). The allocation of annual yield is as follows:
 The State of Arkansas shall have the right to develop and use the waters of the
Spavinaw Creek (only in Arkansas) sub-basin subject to the limitation that the annual
yield shall not be depleted by more than 50 percent.
 The State of Arkansas shall have the right to develop and use the waters of the Illinois
River (only in Arkansas) sub-basin subject to the limitation that the annual yield shall
not be depleted by more than 60 percent.
 The State of Arkansas shall have the right to develop and use all waters originating
within the Lee Creek sub-basin in the State of Arkansas, or the equivalent thereof, and
the State of Oklahoma has the right to develop and use all waters originating in the Lee
Creek sub-basin in Oklahoma, provided that neither state has the power of eminent
domain in the other state, for instance, to build a reservoir in the other state to store
water from this stream that meanders across the state line.
 The State of Arkansas shall have the right to develop and use the waters of the Poteau
River sub-basin (only in Arkansas) subject to the limitation that the annual yield shall
not be depleted by more than 60 percent.
 The State of Oklahoma shall have the right to develop and use the waters of the
Arkansas River sub-basin subject to the limitation that the annual yield shall not be
depleted by more than 60 percent.
3.4.4 Compact Operation and Accounting
The Arkansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Commission is established in Article VIII
as the interstate agency responsible for the administration of the compact. The
commission consists of three members from each state plus one commissioner
representing the United States. One commissioner from Oklahoma must be the Director of
the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and one commissioner from Arkansas must be the
Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission. The federal commissioner is the
chairman of the commission but does not have a vote.
Each state has one vote representing the majority vote of the commissioners of that state.
In case of a tie vote on any of the commission's actions, a majority of the commissioners
for either state may submit a written request to the chairman to submit the question to
arbitration using three arbitrators selected under the compact's procedures. Arbitration is
not compulsory on tie votes.
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Under Article V of the compact, on or before December 31 of each year, the commission
shall determine state line yields of the Arkansas River Basin for the previous water year.
Any depletion in excess of that allowed by the compact shall, subject to the control of the
commission, be delivered to the downstream state. The methods for determining the
annual yield of each of the sub-basins shall be those developed and approved by the
commission.
The powers of the commission are set forth in Article IX and are very broad covering
19 separate duties and powers. The commission is responsible for administration of the
compact including ensuring that adequate stream and reservoir gaging stations are
maintained and that data from these stations are collected and analyzed to determine
compact accounting and compliance.
The annual report published by the commission is very comprehensive and contains much
useful information and data. It includes a section titled "Annual Yield and Selected
Hydrologic Data for the Arkansas River Basin Compact, Arkansas-Oklahoma for the Water
Year" and is prepared by Hydrologic Information Services of Little Rock, Arkansas. It
includes computation of annual yields and deficiency for each of the five sub-basins in cfs.
It also computes depletions from major reservoirs in the basin, which is significant, on the
order of 180,000 AF in water year 2005 (Arkansas River Commission 2006 Report). It also
contains daily flow data from 20 gaging stations in the basin prepared by the U.S.
Geological Survey (USGS) as well as considerable water quality data. The runoff from the
five sub-basins in the 2005 water year was computed as 2,655,200 AF, which is a
significant amount of water. The computed annual depletion in the 2005 water year
including reservoir evaporation was 244,400 AF. There is a downstream obligation on how
much stream water can be consumed by Oklahoma (Oklahoma can use 60 percent of
flows originating in the Arkansas River sub-basin).
3.4.5 Water Availability
The apparent significant unused flows in the basin may merit additional analysis if there
are projected future water demand needs in Oklahoma. Although no known deficiencies by
use in Arkansas have been computed as part of the compact accounting, some daily flows
have been sufficiently low that there were reported shortages in Oklahoma (Dean Couch,
February 5, 2009). Oklahoma water officials notified Arkansas water officials of concerns
related to the shortages, and it was suggested that the 60 to 40 percent split of flows on
an annual basis as set forth in the compact be applied on a daily basis. This would require
Arkansas to regulate water diversions and use to cause the flow to increase into
Oklahoma. This discussion has not resulted in any agreement to operate in this manner in
the future.
The water flowing from Lake Eufaula in the Canadian River is water not originating within
the Arkansas River basin and is not subject to the Arkansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River
Compact, but is subject to the Canadian River Compact, giving Oklahoma free and
unrestricted use of that water. It would appear that Oklahoma could develop the
significant flow available in most years by a diversion from the Canadian River below
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Eufaula Dam. This would require an analysis of the yield for M&I uses at this location
under historical flow conditions. To this end, a pipeline to pump water to Oklahoma City
and surrounding areas has been discussed by private developers.
3.5 Red River Compact, Arkansas-Louisiana-Oklahoma-
Texas (1978)
3.5.1 Purposes
The Red River Compact was signed on May 12, 1978 after several years of negotiations.
The major purposes of the compact are to promote interstate comity and remove causes
of controversy over the use, control, and distribution of the interstate water of the Red
River, to provide an equitable apportionment of the water of the Red River and its
tributaries, to promote an active program for the control and alleviation of natural
deterioration and pollution of the water of the Red River, to provide for an active program
for the conservation of water, protection of lives and property from floods, improvement of
water quality, development of navigation and regulation of flows in the Red River basin,
and to provide a basis for state and joint state planning and action by ascertaining and
identifying each state's share in the interstate water of the Red River basin (Article I).
3.5.2 Geographical Area of Influence
The compact operates from the point where the Red River crosses the New Mexico-Texas
Stateline to the confluence of the Red River above the junction with the Atchafalaya and
Old Rivers near the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The Red River comprises a significant
portion of Oklahoma's border with Texas. The compact divides the Red River Basin into
five major reaches:
 Reach I – the Red River and tributaries from the New Mexico-Texas state boundary to
Denison Dam.
 Reach II – the Red River from Denison Dam to the point where it crosses the Arkansas-
Louisiana state boundary and all tributaries which contribute to the flow of the river
within this reach.
 Reach III – the tributaries west of the Red River which cross the Texas-Louisiana state
boundary, the Arkansas-Louisiana state boundary, and those which cross both the
Texas-Arkansas state boundary and the Arkansas-Louisiana state boundary.
 Reach IV – the tributaries east of the Red river in Arkansas which cross the Arkansas-
Louisiana state boundary.
 Reach V – that portion of the Red River and tributaries in Louisiana not included in
Reach III or in Reach IV.
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3.5.3 Apportionment of Water
The compact allocates annual flow and storage for each of the five reaches above.
Oklahoma is affected by the allocations in Reach I and II. The annual flow is not defined in
the compact but subsequent rules of the compact commission define annual flow as the
measured flow plus upstream manmade depletions. The compact also defines designated
water as water released from storage, paid for by non-federal interests, for delivery to a
specific point of use or diversion. Undesignated water is all water released from storage
that is other than designated water.
Apportionment of Water – Reach I (Article IV)
Reach I is divided into four sub-basins and the water therein allocated as follows:
Sub-basin 1- Interstate Streams - Texas
 Buck Creek, Sand (Lebos) Creek, Salt Fork Red River, Elm Creek, North Fork Red River,
Sweetwater Creek, and Washita River, together with all their tributaries in Texas that lie
west of the 100th Meridian
 60 percent of annual flow to Texas, 40 percent to Oklahoma
Sub-basin 2 – Intrastate and Interstate Streams-Oklahoma
 All Red River tributaries in Oklahoma from Denison Dam (Lake Texoma Dam) upstream
northwestward to Oklahoma-Texas state boundary, including the Washita River basin in
Oklahoma and Buck Creek
 100 percent free and unrestricted use for Oklahoma
Sub-basin 3 – Intrastate Streams - Texas
 All Red River tributaries in Texas from Denison Dam (Lake Texoma Dam) to Oklahoma-
Texas boundary, including Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River in Texas
 100 percent free and unrestricted use for Texas
Sub-basin 4 – Main stem of the Red River and Lake Texoma
�� Mainstem of Red River and all of Lake Texoma from Denison Dam upstream to
Oklahoma-Texas state boundary (Unrestricted use by Oklahoma)
 The storage of Lake Texoma and flow from the main stem of the Red River is
apportioned 200,000 AF to each state
 Additional quantities allocated 50 percent to Oklahoma and 50 percent to Texas
Apportionment of Water – Reach II (Article V)
Reach II is subdivided into five sub-basins and the water therein is allocated as follows:
Sub-basin 1 – Intrastate Streams – Oklahoma
On these intrastate streams and tributaries, Oklahoma has 100 percent free and
unrestricted use. The available flow is determined by the runoff in a stream upstream of
an existing or proposed reservoir site. The streams are:
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 Island-Bayou at Albany
 Blue River at Durant
 Boggy River at Boswell
 Kiamichi River at Hugo
A review of these basins shows that in some cases reservoirs have not been built. The
delineation of sub-basins will still occur at these locations at the latitude and longitude
specified in the compact.
Sub-basins 2 and 4
Sub-basins 2 and 4 of Reach II do not include waters of Oklahoma.
Sub-basin 3 –Interstate Streams Oklahoma and Arkansas
This sub-basin includes the Little River and its tributaries above Millwood Dam. The states
of Oklahoma and Arkansas shall have free and unrestricted use of the water in this sub-basin
within their respective states, subject, however, to the limitation that Oklahoma shall
allow a quantity of water equal to 40 percent of the total runoff originating below existing
or authorized last downstream major damsites in Oklahoma to flow into Arkansas at the
following locations:
 Little River at Pine Creek
 Glover Creek at Lukfata
 Mountain Fork River at Broken Bow
Sub-basin 5 – Mainstem of the Red River and tributaries
This sub-basin includes that portion of the Red River and its tributaries from Denison Dam
(Lake Texoma outfall) to the Arkansas-Louisiana state boundary and involves all signatory
states. Each state's water allocation is controlled by the flow at the Arkansas-Louisiana
state boundary.
 If flow is greater than 3,000 cfs, then each state shall have equal rights to runoff
originating in the sub-basin and undesignated water flowing into the sub-basin, and as
long as the flow is above 3,000 cfs, no state is entitled to more than 25 percent of the
water in excess of 3000 cfs.
 If flow is less than 3,000 cfs but more than 1,000 cfs, then Oklahoma, Arkansas, and
Texas must deliver 40 percent of the total weekly runoff originating in sub-basin 5 and
40 percent of the undesignated water flowing into the sub-basin 5 to Louisiana.
However, the states do not need to release stored water to achieve this goal.
 If flow is less than 1,000 cfs, then Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas must allow all
weekly runoff originating in sub-basin 5 and all undesignated water flowing into sub-basin
5 as required to flow into Louisiana to maintain 1,000 cfs.
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 When the flow is less than 526 cfs at Index, Arkansas, the states of Oklahoma and
Texas must allow a quantity of water equal to 40 percent of the total weekly runoff
originating in sub-basin 5 within their respective states to flow into the Red River,
provided, however, this provision shall be invoked only at the request of Arkansas. This
will only apply if Arkansas has ceased all diversions from the Red River itself above
Index and only if the previous restrictions have not caused a limitation on diversions in
this subbasin.
 Reservoirs less than 1,000 AF that are in existence or authorized at the time of the
compact are exempt from the previous provisions.
3.5.4 Compact Operation and Accounting
The Red River Compact Commission is established in Article IX as the interstate
administrative agency for the compact. The commission is composed of two
representatives from each of the signatory states and one commissioner representing the
United States. The federal commissioner shall be the Chairman of the commission but
shall not have a right to vote. Each of the two commissioners from each state shall have
one vote. Any action concerned with the administration of the compact shall require six
concurring votes. If a proposed action affects existing water rights in a state, and that
action is not expressly provided for in the compact, eight concurring votes shall be
required.
The commission has 16 broad powers and duties set out in Article X of the compact. The
commission may make a finding that a signatory state is or is not in violation of any
provisions of the compact, and may make such investigations and studies to support any
findings. The commission publishes an annual report and submits it to the Governor of
each signatory state and to the President of the United States.
The commission has not to date had to do any accounting under the compact since no
state has deemed it necessary (Article II). The commission has promulgated rules for the
Internal Organization of the commission and has promulgated rules to compute and
enforce compact compliance in Reach I, Sub-basin 1 (April 30, 1987) and for Reach III,
Sub-basin 3 (amended April 25, 1989). The commission has also promulgated interim
rules to compute and enforce compact compliance in Reach II, Sub-basin 5 (April 30,
1987). All of these rules are in the annual report.
The annual report contains considerable information on stream flow in the basin including
long-term average flows and daily flows for the compact water year provided by the USGS.
The flows in the basin are significant. The flow of the Red River at Denison, Texas
averages 3,448,700 AFY over the 53 years of record as shown in the 2006 annual report.
The Red River at Index, Arkansas is shown to average 9,322,800 AFY over the 62 year
period of record in the 2006 report.
Water quality monitoring stations are identified but the data is not published in the annual
report. According to both Herman Settemeyer and Dean Couch, the water quality of the
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waters of the mainstem upstream of Denison Dam is high in chlorides and TDS so that
additional development of the waters of the mainstem for municipal uses are not very
likely unless reverse osmosis membrane treatment systems become economically
feasible in the future. There are existing and proposed federal Chloride Control Projects on
the Red River above Denison Dam that have and could reduce the chloride content of the
water.
3.5.5 Water Availability
The Red River basin and its tributaries appear to have significant flows that may merit
additional analyses for feasibility for future water projects provided the poor water quality
issues on the mainstem can be overcome. The tributaries in Reach II that flow into the
Red River from Oklahoma have good quality water and water from the Kiamichi River is
being evaluated by Oklahoma City as a source for future water needs. The Kiamichi River
basin is mountainous, has little development, and produces runoff of significant yield and
quality.
A Texas entity has also filed applications for water rights on Kiamichi River below Lake
Hugo and this application is under federal litigation. The Texas entity has also filed
applications for water rights in Reach I above Lake Texoma in Oklahoma on Cache Creek
and Beaver Creek near the confluence with the Red River where water quality is better
than the quality of the mainstem water (Dean Couch phone interview, February 5, 2009).
There are downstream delivery obligations as set forth for Reach II, sub-basin 5 that must
be considered in any possible development of Red River main stem flows in Oklahoma.
3.6 Conclusions
Development of additional water supplies to meet current and future demand does not
appear to be constrained by the four interstate river compacts in Oklahoma. Additional
development in Western Oklahoma is constrained by the limited physical water supply in
the Canadian River and North Canadian River due to the low precipitation, extended
drought, and potential impacts of Ogallala aquifer pumping. Likewise, the potential for
additional development in Southwestern Oklahoma on the Red River appears to be more
limited by the water quality and by some degree to the physical supply and not by the Red
River Compact.
In Central and Eastern Oklahoma, where the precipitation is greater causing more runoff
and where considerable water flows into the state from Kansas and Arkansas, the
compacts on the Arkansas and Red River do not impose any apparent limitations on
developing additional water supply projects to meet current or future water demand. The
constraint to development of additional water supply projects would appear to be more
related to the water quality of the rivers, especially related to salts and TDS and the cost of
removing these from the water supply by membrane treatment.
A 4-1
Section 4
References
Arkansas River Compact Commission 2006 Report
Arkansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission Report 2005
Canadian Compact Commission, Agency Strategic Plan for the 2005 – 2009 Period
Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission, Thirty-Ninth Annual Report Fiscal 2006
Kansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Commission, Thirty-Eighth Annual Report Fiscal 2005
Report of the Canadian River Commission 2000, Internal Printing.
Report of the Canadian River Commission March 1, 2004, Internal Printing.
Report of the Red River Compact Commission 2006
Report of the Red River Compact Commission 2005
Red River Compact Commission, Agency Strategic Plan for the 2005 – 2009 Period